Canary Islands’ El Hierro declares emergency amid migrant, refugee influx

Authorities of El Hierro, one of Spain's Canary Islands, have declared an emergency and asked the administration in Madrid for assist after a surge in migrants and refugees arriving on boats.

Key points

• Arrivals reached a record of more than 46, 000 in 2024, then fell sharply due to tighter surveillance and greater cooperation with countries of origin and transit.
• Patrols off Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco have pushed departures further south, from The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, making crossings longer.
• More than 3, 300 individuals have arrived on the island in concerning 30 boats since the start of November, according to local authorities.
• Maritime rescue services rescued 3, 261 migrants and refugees off the coast of the Canary Islands in the first six days of November.
• As saying on Friday, the situation is "absolutely unsustainable", the Reuters news agency quoted Fernando Clavijo, the regional leader of the Canary Islands.

"We are very concerned. By this sharp increase in arrivals, " Alpidio Armas, head of the governing council for El Hierro, one of Europe's main entry points for migrants and refugees from West Africa, informed Spanish television on Saturday.

"This is precisely what has led us to declare an emergency in order to ensure a framework of cooperation with higher-level institutions."

More than 3, 300 individuals have arrived on the island in concerning 30 boats since the start of November, according to local authorities. El Hierro has regarding 11, 400 residents.

While conditions at the island's hospital have become "undesirable", Armas stated, authorities are seeking temporary accommodation for the new arrivals.

Clavijo remarked the numbers were approaching the record levels seen in 2024, and on some days, the current pace was even higher.

Buses have been diverted to migration operations, and medical staff have been brought in from other islands, he remarked.

For context, the Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the world's deadliest migration crossings.

Two individuals were identified dead on a boat heading for the Canaries this week, and five others are believed to have died during the voyage, according to the AFP news agency, citing survivor accounts.

At least nine migrants or refugees have died off the islands in recent weeks.

Between January and October, 13, 327 irregular migrants and refugees arrived by sea, 5.5 percent fewer than in the same period last year, according to Spain's Ministry of the Interior.

Senegalese police remarked on Saturday that they intercepted 142 migrants, including women and young children, off Dakar.

Taken together, the developments around canary Islands' El Hierro declares emergency amid migrant, refugee influx point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.