Almost 1,500 migrants reached the Canary Islands on Saturday as pressure on Spain’s migration system continued to intensify.
Spanish maritime authorities said 2,200 people aboard 14 boats were assisted in the region over the weekend, a destination visited by thousands of British holidaymakers each year.
The Maritime Rescue Service reported that 1,324 people had been rescued, a total close to the route’s daily record. In November 2020, 1,461 arrivals by boat were recorded in the Canary Islands.
Saturday’s arrivals represented the largest number of migrants to make the crossing in a single day in six years, matching the scale of the November 2020 rescue operation.
One boat intercepted on Saturday was carrying around 240 people, including 12 women and 36 children, according to local authorities.
Most of those rescued were from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Conakry. They were taken to El Hierro, the small island that declared a state of emergency last week after a sharp rise in arrivals.
Twelve boats reached El Hierro, while another was escorted to Gran Canaria and a further vessel was taken to Tenerife.
The Atlantic crossing from West Africa to the Canary Islands is considered one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes.
Thousands of people attempt the journey each year in overcrowded boats, facing rough seas, powerful currents and a long passage to Spanish territory.
The Spanish Maritime Rescue Service assists migrants from a wooden boat near El Hierro in the Canary Islands on Saturday
A total of 1,488 people travelling on 14 boats were rescued by Spanish coastguards over the weekend; a boat is pictured off El Hierro earlier this week
Migrants line up overnight at the port of La Restinga on El Hierro on Saturday
Thousands of British tourists visit the Canary Islands each year
Arrivals typically increase during the autumn, when conditions at sea along the route are often calmer and more suitable for the crossing.
Spain’s Territorial Policy Minister, Angel Victor Torres, is due to visit El Hierro on Sunday to discuss the surge in arrivals.
More than 5,000 migrants have reached the island this month alone. El Hierro has a population of approximately 12,000 people.
Maritime services on El Hierro said they had rescued 3,261 migrants during the first six days of November. Regional authorities warned on Friday that the numbers were ‘absolutely unsustainable’.
By Monday, Spanish media reported that the total was approaching 5,000 after 10 further small boats carrying hundreds of people arrived over the weekend.
Earlier in the week, a spokesman for the island’s Unified Police Union said officials were ‘overwhelmed’ by the scale of the arrivals. He warned that the situation was similar to the crisis in Ceuta, describing it as ‘out of control and overwhelming.’
Alpidio Armas, president of El Hierro’s governing council, told Spanish television over the weekend: ‘We are very concerned… by this sharp increase in arrivals.’
‘This is precisely what has led us to declare an emergency in order to ensure a framework of cooperation with higher-level institutions.’
At least nine migrants have died in waters near Spain’s Canary Islands in recent weeks. A critically ill baby was airlifted to hospital after arriving, while thousands of other people have been rescued.
The Spanish government has also faced growing criticism over its handling of the migration crisis since a rush across the border into Ceuta in July.
The national government says around 5,000 migrants remain in the enclave, while Ceuta’s mayor has put the figure as high as 15,000.
Local officials have also accused the government of failing to act on warning signs before the border was breached.
Many migrants in Ceuta, including unaccompanied children, remain sleeping on the streets despite efforts by authorities to provide shelter, register arrivals and return those eligible to Morocco.