El Hierro urges Spanish authorities for support following a surge of over 3,300 migrants and refugees arriving by sea since early November.
El Hierro’s authorities have declared a state of emergency and appealed to the Madrid government for assistance following a sharp rise in migrant and refugee arrivals by sea.
More than 3,300 people have arrived on the island in about 30 boats since the start of November, according to local authorities. El Hierro has about 11,400 residents.
Officials are seeking temporary accommodation for the new arrivals, while conditions at the island’s hospital have become “undesirable”, Armas said.
The situation is “absolutely unsustainable”, the Reuters news agency quoted Fernando Clavijo, the regional leader of the Canary Islands, as saying on Friday.
Maritime rescue services rescued 3,261 migrants and refugees off the coast of the Canary Islands in the first six days of November.
Clavijo said the numbers were approaching the record levels seen in 2024, and on some days, the current pace was even higher.
Buses have been diverted to migration operations, and medical staff have been brought in from other islands, he said.
Deadly route
The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the world’s deadliest migration crossings.
Two people were found dead on a boat heading for the Canaries this week, and five others are believed to have died during the voyage, according to the AFP news agency, citing survivor accounts.
At least nine migrants or refugees have died off the islands in recent weeks.
Arrivals reached a record of more than 46,000 in 2024, then fell sharply due to tighter surveillance and greater cooperation with countries of origin and transit.
Between January and October, 13,327 irregular migrants and refugees arrived by sea, 5.5 percent fewer than in the same period last year, according to Spain’s Ministry of the Interior.
Patrols off Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco have pushed departures further south, from The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, making crossings longer.
Senegalese police said on Saturday that they intercepted 142 migrants, including women and young children, off Dakar.
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