Record day for Canary Islands: nearly 1,500 migrants reach El Hierro in 24 hours

In brief

• Spanish rescuers picked up 1,488 people from 14 boats on 14 November, the highest one-day total since 2020.
• Most arrivals were landed on El Hierro, including one boat carrying 240 people.
• Arrivals for the year to 31 October remain about 5.5 percent below the previous year.

A record day on the Atlantic route

On Saturday, 14 November, Spanish rescuers recovered 1,488 people from 14 boats heading toward the Canary Islands (Іспанія зафіксувала найбільший за шість років наплив мігрантів на Канарські острови – Українська правда) (La ruta migratoria a Canarias bate su récord de llegadas en un solo día con 1.500 personas – EL PAÍS). The figure surpasses the previous one-day record of 1,461 set on 7 November 2020 (Rekordowa liczba migrantów z Afryki dotarła na Wyspy Kanaryjskie. Najwięcej od 2020 roku – Rzeczpospolita). Rescue services said the operation involved eight vessels from the public maritime rescue agency and the Guardia Civil.

Where the boats landed

Most of the migrants were picked up off El Hierro, the smallest of the archipelago's main islands, and taken ashore there (Rekord na Wyspach Kanaryjskich. Prawie 1,5 tys. migrantów przypłynęło z Afryki – RMF24) (Spanien - Fast 2.200 Migranten erreichen die Kanarischen Inseln – Deutschlandfunk). One boat alone carried 240 people, among them 36 children and 12 women. Passengers said their crossings from Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania had lasted between four and seven days. Authorities reported that the largest share came from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea.

Political response

Spain's territorial policy minister, Ángel Víctor Torres, was due to visit El Hierro on 15 November to discuss the sharp rise in arrivals. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had earlier agreed to convene an emergency session of the interministerial immigration commission. Migration is also a central issue in the campaign ahead of the parliamentary election set for 29 November.

Longer trend

Despite the spike, arrivals to the islands for the year through 31 October were about 5.5 percent lower than in the same period of the previous year, according to government data. The Western African sea crossing to the islands is regarded as one of the world's most lethal migration corridors, hampered by strong currents and winds over a distance of roughly 1,600 kilometres to European soil.

Read also

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