Authorities on El Hierro in Spain’s Canary Islands have declared an emergency and appealed to the government in Madrid for assistance following a sharp rise in arrivals of migrants and refugees. Local officials say more than 3,300 people have reached the island aboard about 30 boats since November began. The island has approximately 11,400 residents.
Alpidio Armas, who heads El Hierro’s governing council, told Spanish television on Saturday that the increase had caused serious concern. He said the emergency declaration was intended to establish a framework for cooperation with higher-level institutions. El Hierro is one of Europe’s main points of entry for migrants and refugees travelling from West Africa.
Authorities are trying to find temporary accommodation for those arriving, while the island’s hospital is also facing pressure. Armas described conditions there as “undesirable”. Across the Canary Islands, maritime rescue services rescued 3,261 migrants and refugees at sea during the first six days of November.
Canary Islands regional leader Fernando Clavijo described the situation on Friday as “absolutely unsustainable”, according to Reuters. He said arrival numbers were nearing the record levels recorded in 2024, with the pace exceeding those levels on some days. Buses have been reassigned to migration operations, and medical personnel have come from other islands to provide support, he said.
The surge comes amid further deaths along the Atlantic crossing from West Africa to the Canary Islands, one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. Two people were found dead aboard a boat bound for the islands this week. AFP, citing accounts from survivors, reported that another five were believed to have died during the journey. At least nine migrants or refugees have died off the islands in recent weeks.
More than 46,000 arrivals were recorded in 2024, a record that was followed by a steep decline as surveillance tightened and cooperation increased with countries of origin and transit. Spain’s Ministry of the Interior recorded 13,327 irregular migrants and refugees arriving by sea between January and October, down 5.5 percent from the corresponding period a year earlier.
Patrols along the coasts of Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco have shifted departures farther south to The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, lengthening the sea journeys. Senegalese police said on Saturday that they had intercepted 142 migrants off Dakar, including women and young children.
