Four migrants were killed and 64 others were rescued when a boat from Mauritania arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands after making the dangerous Atlantic route from West Africa, Spain’s Maritime and Rescue Service said.
The migrants arrived on El Hierro late Tuesday night and survivors included two women and nine minors, the agency said.
According to a post on X (formerly Twitter), two people were taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tenerife after feeling unwell, while 14 others were taken to El Hierro to be treated mainly for hypothermia and dehydration. He was transported to a local hospital. Local emergency services.
Spain’s migrant crisis escalates as more than 1,000 migrants arrive in the Canary Islands in three days
Around 12,000 migrants fleeing poverty, conflict and instability in West Africa landed on the Spanish islands in the first two months of this year, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry.
The remains of a traditional Mauritanian fishing boat, also used by migrants heading to Spain’s Canary Islands, on a beach near Nouadhibou, Mauritania, on December 2, 2021. Four migrants were killed and 64 others were rescued when a boat from Mauritania arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands after making the dangerous Atlantic route from West Africa, Spain’s Maritime and Rescue Service said. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
This is more than six times the number that arrived on the island last year. El Hierro, the westernmost Canary Islands, is bearing the brunt of the arrivals.
More than 500 migrants arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands in 24 hours
Most of the migrants set off from Mauritania’s coast in artisanal fishing vessels known as pirogues, sailing for days against strong winds and Atlantic currents. Thousands of people survived the perilous journey, but many died or went missing along the way, their remains sometimes washing up on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
At least 191 migrants will be reported dead or missing while trying to reach the Canary Islands by 2024, according to the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project.
However, this number is believed to be an undercount.
