On Saturday, the Canary Islands received 12 small boats carrying 1,103 people, 850 of whom disembarked on El Hierro, once again the main destination for arrivals, on a day when eight vessels were involved in the rescues, whilst two further operations are still underway.
The operation has mobilised six Maritime Rescue vessels -Diphda, Acrux, Navia, Alpheratz, Mizar and Urania- and two Guardia Civil patrol boats, the Río Tajo and the Río Guadiato, on a day that saw arrivals at the ports of La Restinga on El Hierro, Arguineguín on Gran Canaria, and Los Cristianos on Tenerife.
The provisional tally, compiled using data from the Maritime Rescue Service and the on-quay reception services, includes ten small boats carrying 850 people in El Hierro, one carrying 203 in Gran Canaria and another carrying 50 in Tenerife.
Canary Islands: 1,946 migrants arrive in 20 boats over two days
Among the 1,103 people who disembarked on Saturday are 89 women and 130 children, although these figures are provisional.
These figures do not include the two rescue operations that are still ongoing, nor the 122 people on board another cayuco that arrived at La Restinga at 23:55 on Friday, five minutes before the end of the day.
In total, there were eight arrivals on Friday, with 843 people disembarking; when added to the 1,103 who disembarked from twelve small boats on Saturday, this brings the total to 1,946 migrants in 20 small boats over the two days.
El Hierro: Crossings take up to seven days
The largest boat of those received this Saturday in El Hierro disembarked at 17:26, carrying 240 people, including 12 women and 36 minors, all transported by the Mizar. According to the migrants‘ accounts, they had made a six-day journey from Gunjur, in The Gambia. The passengers are from Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Conakry.
The first arrival on Saturday took place at 04:01, when the Navia disembarked 148 people from a cayuco that had set sail six days earlier from Kayar, in Senegal, including 18 women and 12 possible minors, pending confirmation.
At 8.15 am, two further arrivals were recorded, comprising 48 and 54 people respectively; subsequently, the Acrux transported the 47 occupants of another cayuco to La Restinga at 9.24 am, and a further 85 at 11.20 am.
The operation continued with the disembarkation of 97 people brought in by the Mizar at 1.10 pm and a further 71 by the Navia at 1.58 pm, before the Diphda brought 60 people from two small boats, carrying 40 and 20 people respectively, into port at 4.10 pm.
The journeys of the boats that have arrived in El Hierro have taken between four and seven days, with departures from Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania, according to the assistance services.
Gran Canaria and Tenerife are providing for rescued migrants
In Gran Canaria, the Urania disembarked 203 people, including 18 women and 37 children, at Arguineguín shortly after midnight, after they had been rescued from a cayuco some 100 miles south of El Hierro. That cayuco had also set sail from Gunjur, in The Gambia.
According to the 112 emergency service, following the response in Arguineguín by the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), Primary Care and the Red Cross, 17 of those on board required transfer to hospital.
In Tenerife, the Maritime Rescue Service intercepted a cayuco at midday near the coast and its 50 occupants were disembarked at the port of Los Cristianos. One person had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
El Hierro is relocating migrants and is expecting a visit from a minister
As of this Saturday, 317 people were still at the Temporary Reception Centre for Foreign Nationals (CATE) on El Hierro, not including the latest arrivals, and 158 of them were transferred to Tenerife on the scheduled ferry during the day.
In addition, 11 people who arrived in previous days remain hospitalised at the Nuestra Señora de los Reyes Insular Hospital.
The Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, has announced that he will visit the port of La Restinga this Sunday to assess the current situation regarding migration on the island.
The record for arrivals in the Canary Islands in a single day stands at 1,461 people, set on 7 November 2020, when 33 small boats and canoes arrived.
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