Canary Route Sees Surge in Arrivals: 1,021 People Since Thursday Night, Over 3,200 in November

In brief

• Arrivals to the Canary Islands have accelerated in early November, with over 3,200 people landed in the first five days.
• El Hierro's local government declared a state of emergency over the scale of the arrivals.
• Rescue services report one death among the most recent group landed.

Sharp rise in arrivals since Thursday

The West African migration route to the Canary Islands has picked up again, helped by calm sea conditions. Since Thursday night, Salvamento Marítimo, Spain's maritime rescue service, has landed 1,021 migrants on El Hierro, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote (La ruta canaria acelera el ritmo de llegadas: 1.021 personas desde la noche del jueves, más de 3.200 en noviembre – EL PAÍS). One person who was on board died, the agency said.

November figures and comparison with October

From 1 to 5 November, more than 3,200 people arrived in the archipelago aboard 39 cayucos and small boats, according to data from Salvamento Marítimo and the Interior Ministry. In October, 6,194 migrants reached the islands. In the first six months of the year the total was 3,708, 77% below the same period a year earlier.

• October: 6,194 arrivals
• January to June: 3,708 arrivals, down 77% year on year
• 5 November, 24 hours from Friday: about 1,100 arrivals, close to the November 2021 daily record of 1,470 (Jeden zo španielskych Kanárskych ostrovov vyhlásil stav núdze kvôli migračnej vlne – HNonline.sk) (Ohromná vlna migrantů se vylodila na kanárském ostrově – Novinky.cz)

Pressure on El Hierro

Local authorities declared a state of emergency on Saturday because of the flow, which they say has reached more than 8,000 people in five weeks. The island council president, Alpidio Armas, said arrivals exceed the capacity to transfer people to Tenerife and Gran Canaria, and that health services at the island hospital are under strain. The emergency decree asks the regional and national governments for more rescue staff, coast guard personnel, health workers and Red Cross volunteers to relieve exhausted teams.

Wider context

The route is considered one of the most dangerous in the world because of strong currents and crossings that can last several days (Kanarische Inseln melden vermehrte Flüchtlingsankünfte – tagesschau.de). In 2024, more than 46,800 people reached Spain by this route within a year, a figure that triggered political disputes over the distribution of unaccompanied minors. The UN refugee agency counted about 13,300 arrivals to the Canaries from January to the end of October this year.