El Hierro declares emergency as boat arrivals exceed 3,300

Authorities on El Hierro have declared an emergency and requested assistance from the Spanish government as the Canary Islands island faces a sharp increase in migrants and refugees arriving by boat.

More than 3,300 people reached El Hierro in about 30 boats since the start of November, according to local authorities. Officials are seeking temporary accommodation for the new arrivals as pressure grows on the island’s limited services.

Alpidio Armas, head of El Hierro’s governing council, said the emergency declaration was intended to establish a framework for cooperation with higher-level institutions.

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

Pressure on local services

Armas also expressed concern about the pace of arrivals and said conditions at the island’s hospital had become “undesirable”. El Hierro has about 11,400 residents.

Fernando Clavijo, the regional leader of the Canary Islands, said buses had been diverted to migration operations and medical staff had been brought in from other islands. He described the wider situation as “absolutely unsustainable”, according to Reuters.

Maritime rescue services said they rescued 3,261 migrants and refugees off the coast of the Canary Islands during the first six days of November. Clavijo said the number of arrivals was approaching the record levels recorded in 2024, with some days showing an even higher pace.

Deadly Atlantic crossing

The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is considered one of the world’s deadliest migration crossings. AFP, citing survivor accounts, reported that two people were found dead on a boat travelling towards the islands and that five others were believed to have died during the journey.

At least nine migrants or refugees had died off the islands in recent weeks, according to the source.

Arrivals to the Canary Islands reached a record of more than 46,000 in 2024 before falling sharply. The decline was attributed to tighter surveillance and increased cooperation with countries of origin and transit.

Patrols off Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco have pushed some departures farther south towards The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, making the journeys longer, according to the source.

Interception off Senegal

Senegalese police said they intercepted 142 migrants off Dakar, including women and young children.

Spain’s Ministry of the Interior recorded 13,327 irregular migrants and refugees arriving by sea between January and October, a figure that was 5.5 percent lower than during the same period the previous year.

El Hierro remains one of Europe’s main entry points for people travelling from West Africa. The island’s authorities are now seeking temporary accommodation and support from Madrid as arrivals continue to test local capacity.