Nearly 2,200 migrants reach Canary Islands in two days, Spain says

Spain declared a migration emergency on the Canary Islands on November 11 following a rise in arrivals, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa, according to The Hindu. Over a two-day period, 2,331 people arrived in 22 boats. On Friday, November 13, 843 people arrived in eight boats, and on Saturday, November 14, 1,488 people were rescued from 14 boats.

Euronews and Euro Weekly News report that the Saturday figure of 1,488 people is a record high for the islands, surpassing the previous record of 1,461 people set on November 7, 2020.

The Saturday arrivals included 1,235 people reaching El Hierro via 12 large wooden boats, 203 people intercepted in Gran Canaria, and 50 people arriving in Tenerife, according to Euronews and Euro Weekly News. The Korea Times noted that the Maritime Rescue Service assisted 1,324 migrants on 14 dinghies, most of whom arrived on El Hierro. Of the Saturday arrivals, provisional data indicated there were 108 women and 167 minors.

Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo stated that the consistent arrival of boats this month has completely overwhelmed the island's resources, according to Euronews. The Korea Times reported that of more than 28,000 people who arrived in Spain by sea between January and the end of October, more than 13,000 arrived in the Canary Islands.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu, Euronews, Euro Weekly News, The Korea Times — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.