Four boats carrying 238 migrants reached the Canary Islands over the weekend

The influx of migrants to the Canary Islands persists, with a total of 238 people arriving over the weekend in four separate boats. Three of these were rescued off the coast of Lanzarote, while a makeshift boat, known as a cayuco, managed to reach the Los Cristianos dock in Tenerife independently.

The cayuco, originating from Senegal, set sail with 95 people on board with, according to reports from Efe, 14 women and 20 minors among the occupants, arriving in Tenerife on Saturday.

The vessel, which departed on November 10th, spent nine days at sea, with the migrants spending the last 24 hours bailing water from the sinking boat, and shortly after they disembarked at the Los Cristianos port, the cayuco sank.

Following evaluation by emergency teams, up to 17 people were taken to nearby hospitals for further treatment due to their deteriorating health conditions.

The other three vessels were intercepted by Maritime Rescue in Lanzarote. The first was an inflatable boat carrying 55 people, spotted approximately 15 nautical miles south of Arrecife.

The emergency services were alerted around 2:30pm on Saturday by a call from the occupants themselves. Shortly after, the Guardia Civils SIVE confirmed the location and observed that the boat was stationary.

The second vessel, carrying 49 individuals of Maghreb origin, was located by the Guardia Civil at 2:15am on Sunday morning. Maritime control informed ships in the area to remain vigilant and notified the Rabat Rescue Centre, which took over the search in its region, as reported by Efe.

After numerous failed attempts to contact the boat by phone, communication was established around 7:15am, allowing the determination of its position. The nearest ship, the Castillo de Pambre, was redirected to the area to safeguard it.

Just before 8:00am, the Castillo de Pambre reported sighting the vessel and maintained visual contact while the Salvamar Al Nair headed towards it. By 10:00am, the crew of the Salvamar Al Nair hsad successfully rescued the 49 people on board, all of Maghreb origin (45 men, three women, and a child).

With everyone safely on board, the Maritime Rescue vessel headed towards the port of Arrecife, reaching it around 11:20am where they were met by SUC medical personnel and the Red Cross.

The last boat, carrying 39 people, was intercepted on Sunday afternoon by the Salvamar Al Nair. All occupants, including 32 men and seven women, were rescued in apparent good health. The boat was first spotted at 5:35pm by a yacht called Starry Night northeast of Arrecife in Lanzarote.