The arrival of a cayuco carrying 92 people in El Hierro at 23:07 on Saturday has raised the record number of migrants disembarking in the Canary Islands in a single day to 1,580, on a day when fifteen boats were disembarked on three islands.
That figure exceeds the 1,461 people rescued on 7 November 2020, when the port of Arguineguín, in Gran Canaria, was the main point of entry for arrivals in the archipelago.
Six Maritime Rescue vessels, the Diphda, Acrux, Navia, Alpheratz, Mizar and Urania, and two Guardia Civil patrol boats, the Río Tajo and the Río Guadiato, took part in Saturday’s operation, with disembarkations mainly on El Hierro, but also on Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
Canary Islands: Ten rescue vessels are on duty this weekend
The Salvamar Menkalinan and the Guardamar Polimnia have joined the rescue operations this Sunday, which began with a cayuco from Senegal carrying 79 people, bringing the total number of rescue vessels operating in the area this weekend to ten.
The provisional tally, compiled using data gathered by EFE from the Maritime Rescue Service and on-quay assistance services, includes thirteen small boats carrying 1,327 people in El Hierro, one carrying 203 in Gran Canaria and another carrying 50 in Tenerife.
According to provisional figures, which are still to be confirmed, those who have disembarked include at least 120 women and 173 children.
El Hierro: Thirteen cayucos reach the island
This is the list of boats assisted by the Maritime Rescue Service and the Guardia Civil:
The first cayuco arrived in La Restinga at 04:01, assisted by the Salvamar Navia, carrying 148 people from Senegal and The Gambia, including 18 women and 12 suspected minors, after a six-day voyage from Kayar in Senegal.
At 08:15, the 48 occupants of the second cayuco, all of Senegalese nationality, including two male minors, disembarked at the same port, following a five-day journey from Saint-Louis in Senegal.
At the same time, the third group arrived, comprising 54 people from Senegal, including two women, who had set off from Dakar six days earlier.
At 09:24, the Salvamar Acrux disembarked the 47 people from the fourth cayuco, all Senegalese, including four minors, who had been sailing for five days from Saloum, in Senegal.
The same rescue vessel brought the 85 people on board the fifth cayuco, including 12 women and 12 children, all from Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, to La Restinga at 11.20 am, after a seven-day journey from Brufut in The Gambia.
The sixth disembarkation took place at 13:10, when the Salvamar Mízar brought 97 people, including 27 women and 16 minors, from The Gambia, Senegal and Guinea to port; they had set sail from the Gambian coast six days earlier.
At 13:58, the Salvamar Navia disembarked the 71 men from the seventh cayuco, from Senegal and The Gambia, following a seven-day journey from The Gambia.
At 16:10, the Salvamar Diphda brought the 40 people from the eighth cayuco, all Senegalese, including six minors, to La Restinga, after a five-day voyage from Saint-Louis.
Also at 16:10, the 20 people on board the ninth cayuco, all of Senegalese nationality, including five minors, were brought ashore with the assistance of Diphda, following a four-day journey from Nouakchott in Mauritania.
The largest group, travelling on the tenth cayuco, arrived at 17:26 aboard the Salvamar Mizar: 240 people from Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea, including 12 women and 36 children, who had been sailing for six days from Gunjur in The Gambia.
The 214 people on board the eleventh cayuco disembarked at two ports on El Hierro: 74 at La Restinga at 8.05 pm, transported by the Navia, and 140 at La Estaca at 8.30 pm, aboard a Guardia Civil patrol boat; they included six women and 23 minors. This group had set off from the Dakar area six days earlier and comprised people from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Mali and Togo.
At 8.45 pm, the La Navia disembarked the 171 people recorded on the twelfth cayuco, who had come from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mali, after a five-day voyage from Mboro in Senegal. The group included a six-month-old baby.
The most recent arrival in El Hierro took place at 23:07, when the Salvamar Acrux disembarked 92 people, including 12 women and six children, from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, following a six-day voyage from The Gambia. Among the passengers were a woman who was four months pregnant and an 18-month-old child.
Gran Canaria and Tenerife are taking in more cayucos
In Gran Canaria, the Guardamar Urania disembarked 203 people in Arguineguín, including 18 women and 37 children, who had been rescued from a cayuco some 185 kilometres south of El Hierro; the vessel had set sail from Gunjur, in The Gambia.
The day’s total is rounded off by a further 50 people from a cayuco who were disembarked at the port of Los Cristianos, in Tenerife, with the assistance of the Salvamar Alpheratz.
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