Maritime Rescue services intercepted and assisted 504 migrants yesterday (Tuesday) of Maghrebi and sub-Saharan origin travelling in nine precarious boats near the Canary Islands. Among those rescued were 12 women and 13 children, including two babies, who, along with their mothers, were taken to a medical centre for evaluation.
This significant influx has overwhelmed reception facilities, forcing 94 people to spend the night at the Arrecife dock in Lanzarote. The latest rescue occurred 122 kilometres southwest of El Hierro, following a distress call at 6:30pm. In response, the rescue vessel Guardamar Talia and the helicopter Helimer 204 were deployed.
Earlier in the day, at 4:51pm, two inflatable boats carrying 97 migrants were escorted to Arrecife by the Guardamar Polimnia. One of these boats, carrying 60 people, including a minor, was located after a direct call to the emergency services. The second was spotted by a merchant ship and a Maritime Rescue aircraft, Sasemar 102, with 37 Maghrebi migrants onboard.
Rescue authorities reported that all those rescued were in good health. Lanzarote, received six of the nine boats, and has set up a temporary shelter at the port to accommodate the arrivals.
Since the early hours of Tuesday morning, six other boats with a total of 337 migrants were rescued near Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, and El Hierro. At dawn, the Salvamar Acrux transported 54 sub-Saharan migrants, including two women, to La Restinga port in El Hierro.
Meanwhile, the Guardamar Calíope rescued 180 people from three boats located 61 kilometres east of Lanzarote’s capital. Later in the morning, at 8:05am, the Salvamar Dipdha brought another 71 migrants to Arrecife.
Additionally, in the early hours of the day, the Salvamar Nunki rescued 32 Maghrebi migrants, including four women and 12 minors, from a wooden boat spotted near Arinaga, Gran Canaria. The vessel had been located around midnight following a Guardia Civil alert, and the migrants were brought ashore in Arguineguín at 5:00am.
This surge in arrivals marks a resurgence in the Canary Islands migration route, following a temporary slowdown in January.
According to Spain’s Ministry of the Interior, some 4,752 people arrived in the Canary Islands in January aboard 72 boats, representing a 32.6% decrease compared to the same period last year, when 7,270 migrants reached the archipelago in 110 vessels.
On Monday, 389 migrants travelling in seven boats were also rescued along the Canary Islands route. Survivors were taken to Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and El Hierro.
