Coastguard brings 152 migrants from Cayuco to El Hierro

Off the coast of El Hierro, the coastguard rescued 153 people from a refugee boat adrift on the high seas. For one person, help came too late. The body was also brought ashore by the emergency services. Among the survivors were 130 men and 22 women.

The operation was launched on Wednesday at 7.20 pm, when the coordination centre at Tenerife received a report that a boat was adrift some 29 nautical miles south-west of the port of La Restinga.

The Helimer 204 rescue helicopter headed for the area and spotted the boat – colloquially known as a ‚cayuco‘ in the Canary Islands – on the high seas. At the same time, two rescue boats set out, one from La Gomera and the other from El Hierro.

El Hierro: Migrants reach La Restinga at 3 am

The Salvamar Navia attached a towline to the cayuco to secure the overcrowded boat in the darkness. At around 9 pm, the crew took all the passengers on board and recovered the body of the deceased. Due to strong winds and high waves, the cayuco could not be towed. Once the rescuers had ensured that no one was left on board, they cut the towline. The boat subsequently drifted out to the open sea.

To get the people to the coast more quickly, the survivors were transferred to a larger ship whilst still on the Atlantic. On Thursday at 3 am Canary Islands time, the ship docked at the quay in La Restinga.

Volunteers were already waiting on shore to look after the migrants and to begin the process of identifying them. The Red Cross and the Canary Islands emergency services examined the 152 survivors and coordinated the handover of the body to the authorities.

La Restinga, in the south of El Hierro, has for years been the main port of arrival for boats rescued on the Atlantic route. This year, the number of migrants arriving in the Canary Islands via the world’s most dangerous migration route has fallen significantly. However, there are reports suggesting that a renewed increase is expected.