Local authorities said more than 3,300 people had arrived on El Hierro by boat since Nov. 1. They declared an emergency and asked Spain for help, while Alpidio Armas, head of the island’s governing council, said the declaration would help coordinate the response with national institutions.
Authorities said the arrivals came on roughly 30 boats. Armas said the declaration would help coordinate the response with national institutions. Officials are seeking temporary accommodation for new arrivals, and Armas called conditions at the island hospital “undesirable.”
Al Jazeera reported that Fernando Clavijo, the Canary Islands’ regional leader, said buses had been diverted to migration operations and medical staff brought in from other islands. Clavijo said the regional arrival pace was nearing 2024 levels and had exceeded them on some days.
Reuters reported 3,261 migrant and refugee rescues across the Canary Islands from Nov. 1-6. EconoTimes covered the six-day rescue total.
Spain’s Ministry of the Interior recorded 13,327 irregular migrant and refugee arrivals by sea across the archipelago from January through October, 5.5% fewer than in the same period a year earlier.
