Nine people have been confirmed dead, and at least 48 remain missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized near Spain’s Canary Islands overnight, rescue services reported on Saturday.
The tragic incident is the latest in a series of deadly accidents involving migrants attempting perilous journeys along the west coast of Africa.
Spain’s sea rescue services responded to a distress signal off the coast of El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, just after midnight.
The rescue operation successfully saved 27 people from the vessel, which had been carrying 84 passengers.
Anselmo Pestana, the head of the Canary Islands prefecture, provided further details from the port of La Estaca on El Hierro.
According to survivors, the boat had departed from Nouadhibou, Mauritania, roughly 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) away.
Pestana also noted that survivors suggested the total number of people on board could have been as high as 90. Among the rescued were four minors, he added.
A critical point in the operation came as the rescue vessels approached the distressed boat.
Pestana emphasized that it was essential for the migrants to remain calm to prevent the boat from tipping over.
“They had to follow the instructions of the rescue crews to ensure their vessel stayed balanced and did not capsize,” Pestana said.
He also noted that the migrants had endured two days without food or water, which likely contributed to panic and the boat eventually capsizing.
The rescue involved five ships, three helicopters, and one airplane in an extensive search and rescue operation.
This disaster mirrors the tragic fate of 39 migrants who perished in early September when their boat sank off the coast of Senegal while attempting a similar journey to the Canary Islands.
In recent years, thousands of migrants have lost their lives attempting to cross the Atlantic, hoping to reach Europe on overcrowded, unseaworthy boats.
“The latest tragedy again underlines the dangerousness of the Atlantic route,” wrote Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canaries region, on X. “We need Spain and the EU to act decisively in the face of a structural humanitarian tragedy” as lives are lost “metres from Europe’s southern border.”
This latest incident comes after Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited Mauritania and Gambia in late August to sign agreements aimed at tackling human smuggling operations while creating more legal pathways for immigration.
The number of migrants reaching the Canaries has dramatically increased in 2024. By mid-August, 22,304 migrants had arrived, compared to 9,864 during the same period in 2023.
In 2023, almost 40,000 migrants entered the Canaries, a record that may be surpassed this year as the calmer waters of September often lead to a spike in attempts to cross.
The Atlantic route, notoriously deadly, poses extreme risks, as many of the overcrowded boats are ill-equipped to handle the strong currents of the ocean.
Some of these boats launch from African shores as far as 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the Canary Islands.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration estimates that at least 4,857 people have lost their lives attempting this route since 2014.
However, humanitarian organizations argue that the true death toll is far higher. Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish NGO working with migrants, estimates that 18,680 individuals have died while attempting to reach Europe.
