The perilous Canary Islands migration route has claimed another 50 lives over the weekend, with two devastating incidents highlighting the dangers faced by those attempting the journey from Africa to the Canary Islands.
The First Tragedy: A Cayuco Adrift Near El Hierro
The first and most harrowing incident involved a cayuco, a large open boat, which was spotted by the merchant vessel Patria drifting approximately 370 kilometres south of El Hierro. On board were the last ten survivors from an original group of 58 people who had set out from Nouadhibou, Mauritania, nearly three weeks earlier on October 14. The survivors, all men from Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania, had been adrift for 19 days, with the final three days spent without a functioning engine. Tragically, they reported that 48 of their companions had died during the journey, and they had been forced to throw the bodies overboard.
The Patria crew alerted Maritime Rescue and stayed alongside the cayuco until the rescue vessel Guardamar Talía arrived in the early hours of Sunday. The survivors were transferred to La Restinga port on El Hierro, where they received immediate medical care from the Red Cross and the Canary Islands Emergency Service for severe dehydration, altered consciousness, fever, and respiratory difficulties. Four of them were later admitted to the El Hierro Island Hospital for further treatment.
The Second Incident: A Sinking Dinghy Near Lanzarote
Meanwhile, a second tragic event unfolded near Lanzarote. The merchant ship Regina discovered an inflatable boat beginning to deflate, with several occupants already in the water. The Regina rescued 54 people from the vessel, some of whom had fallen overboard. Shortly after, the rescue vessel Guardamar Concepción Arenal arrived, retrieving two more survivors from the sea and recovering the body of one deceased individual. These incidents underscore the extreme dangers that migrants face in attempting this treacherous crossing.
A Weekend of Unprecedented Rescue Operations
Over the course of the weekend, Salvamento Marítimo conducted 27 rescue operations on the Canary Islands migration route, rescuing a total of 1,563 people from 27 different vessels. Of those rescued, there were at least 86 women and 31 minors.
Between November 1 and 3, the rescue operations saved 547 people from seven boats near El Hierro, 956 people from 19 boats in Lanzarote’s waters, and 157 people from three boats near Fuerteventura. Additionally, 60 people were on their way to Tenerife’s port of Los Cristianos, escorted by a Salvamento Marítimo vessel.
The sheer scale of this weekend’s operations involved seven Salvamento Marítimo vessels: the Urania, Concepción Arenal, Talía, Adhara, Mizar, Alpheratz, and Al Nair. The number of migrants arriving in the Canary Islands soared, with 66 arriving on Friday, 775 on Saturday, and another 722 by Sunday.
These latest incidents on the Canary Islands route are a stark reminder of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region. With ever-increasing numbers of people attempting the perilous journey, the Canary Islands’ search and rescue teams face the ongoing challenge of saving lives and responding to the immense pressures of this migration route.
