Record numbers of African refugees arrive in Canary Islands by boat

Nearly 32,000 migrants have reached Spain’s Canary Islands on fragile boats from west Africa this year, passing a previous record posted in 2006, regional authorities said on Sunday.

Since Friday, 739 people have been rescued in the Atlantic Ocean off El Hierro, the smallest and most westerly island in the archipelago, the Spanish coastguard said.

Two people were found dead in four boats and two other people died later in hospital, said the Spanish Civil Guard on Saturday, which also took part in the rescue in which women and children were among those saved.

With the Canary Islands’ services overwhelmed by the influx, the Spanish government has initiated transfers of many migrants to mainland Spain.

The Spanish government said it would create additional emergency accommodation for some 3,000 migrants in military barracks, hotels and hostels.

According to Spain’s interior ministry, most of the arrivals are from sub-Saharan Africa, in particular Senegal.

The route to the Canary Islands is among the deadliest for migrants worldwide. In the first half of the year, with far fewer people attempting to cross the sea, the NGO Walking Borders estimated that 778 people lost their lives.