Migrant Surge Hits Spain's Canary Islands: 3,261 Rescued in the First Six Days of November as El Hierro Declares a Social Emergency
LA RESTINGA, Spain — Spain's maritime rescue service said on November 6 that it had rescued 3,261 migrants in the first six days of November in the waters around the Canary Islands. The regional government, counting arrivals by boat, put the figure at 49 boats carrying about 4,587 people between November 1 and 6, 35 of them bound for the westernmost island of El Hierro; Spanish media put total arrivals since the start of November at close to 5,000.
El Hierro, home to about 11,400 residents, is one of Europe's key entry points for migrants arriving from West Africa. The island council declared a social emergency on Friday, November 6, with its president, Alpidio Armas, formally requesting more support from the regional and national governments by decree: the council said more than 8,000 people had arrived by boat over the previous five weeks, and more than 3,000 in the last five days alone, aboard about thirty cayucos.
Regional president Fernando Clavijo warned on Friday that arrival numbers were approaching the record-breaking levels seen in 2024, and on some days the pace was even higher, calling the situation on El Hierro absolutely unsustainable. On Thursday night, rescue services brought about 500 people from two boats ashore at the port of La Restinga on El Hierro and recovered one body. At least nine migrants have died off the islands in recent weeks, and a critically ill baby was airlifted to hospital upon arrival.
The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the world's deadliest migration crossings. Attempted crossings typically pick up in the autumn, when sea conditions are generally calmer. Despite the current surge, total arrivals in the first ten months of 2026 were still down nearly 61 percent from the same period of 2024.
(Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：耶罗岛拉雷斯廷加（La Restinga）港镇，移民船主要上岸点之一。摄影：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Photo: The port town of La Restinga on El Hierro, one of the main landing points for migrant boats. Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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