Monday 30 / June / 2025
Spain's maritime rescue service said that over the last 24 hours, 500 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands in six wooden boats after setting off into the Atlantic from West Africa.
Over half of those arrived in three boats at El Hierro island on Friday alone. Authorities on the island, with a population of 11,000, said they were overwhelmed by the number of arrivals.
Another two boats arrived in Tenerife, and one boat arrived on Gran Canaria with 243 people, all from sub-Saharan Africa.
The head of the Red Cross' emergency unit in El Hierro, Inigo Vila, told reporters the organization had to increase its resources to deal with the higher number of people in need of aid.
"We have reinforced our staff and equipment to be able to provide as much coverage as possible," Vila said. "We have even reinforced with volunteer personnel from other islands that perhaps are not suffering the pressure El Hierro is suffering at the moment."
Lying barely 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the northwest coast of Africa at their closest point, the Canary Islands have become a main route for migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees trying to reach Spain by sea. In 2022, half of irregular migrants entering Spain went via the Canaries.
