Migrant Crisis Intensifies: Two Boats Reach Canary Islands Amid Search for 48 Missing

Two boats with migrants arrived at the Canary Islands as rescuers searched for 48 missing after a deadly shipwreck. A total of 81 migrants reached Tenerife and another group made it to Fuerteventura. Rising migrant crossings have triggered calls for action from Canary Islands' regional president.

Two boats carrying migrants arrived in the Canary Islands late Sunday, while rescuers continued to search for 48 individuals missing from an earlier shipwreck, potentially the deadliest in 30 years in the Spanish archipelago. One vessel with 81 migrants landed at Tenerife, the largest island in the Canaries, with at least one person requiring hospitalization.

Another boat reached Fuerteventura, the second-largest island, though the exact number of migrants aboard was not confirmed. Meanwhile, a third boat with approximately 80 migrants was nearing El Hierro, the smallest island. This comes after a tragic shipwreck over the weekend that resulted in nine confirmed deaths and left 48 others missing, rescue services reported. Rescuers saved 27 of the 84 migrants attempting to reach Spain from West Africa.

The disaster has led Fernando Clavijo, the Canary Islands' regional president, to urge mainland Spain and the European Union to take urgent action as migrant crossings from West Africa to the archipelago have surged by 85% this year. Clavijo emphasized the need for an immediate agreement to address the crisis. Between January 1 and September 15, 26,758 migrants crossed to the Canary Islands, a perilous journey of up to 800 miles. This surge comes as crossings from North Africa in the central and western Mediterranean have declined, according to EU Frontex data. Calm seas and favorable winds have spurred this recent increase in migrant efforts.

Clavijo projected 70,000 migrants could arrive by year-end, almost doubling the 39,910 who arrived in 2023. Extreme poverty and political instability in Africa's Sahel region drive these migrations, creating political tensions in Spain as mainland areas resist taking in more migrants from the Canaries. The deadliest shipwreck in this migration route's 30-year history occurred in 2009 off Lanzarote, claiming 25 lives.

(With inputs from agencies.)