More than 1,400 African migrants reach Spain's Canaries in one weekend
More than 1,400 African migrants reached Spain's Canary Islands over the weekend, with one vessel bringing a single-boat record of 321 people, as the Atlantic archipelago struggles to cope with its worst migrant crisis since 2006.
A total of 1,457 migrants reached the Spanish islands off the western African coast between Friday night and Sunday morning, the authorities said on X, formerly Twitter, adding to a recent spike in arrivals.
An emergency services spokesman said all of the arrivals hailed from sub-Saharan Africa.
Saturday saw 321 people reach the island of El Hierro aboard one vessel, a rescue services spokesperson told AFP, surpassing the previous record for a single boat of 280 on October 3rd.
Spanish broadcaster TVE showed images of a multicoloured vessel crammed with smiling and waving passengers reaching port.
Latest data from Spain's interior ministry show 23,537 migrants reached the Canaries between January 1st and October 15th.
The first fortnight of this month alone saw 8,561 arrivals -- a record for a fortnight since a previous migration crisis in 2006.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska last week said on a visit to the archipelago the spike in numbers resulted from political "destabilisation in the Sahel".
Canary president Fernando Clavijo has repeatedly called on Madrid and other regions to help them cope with the influx of arrivals, as the islands' authorities have warned they are running out of space in the refugee centres they have.
The tiny island of El Hierro, the second smallest of the Canaries with only 11,000 registered residents, has received around 1,000 migrants over the weekend, earning it the nickname of the 'Spanish Lampedusa' in the local press.
READ ALSO: What happens to undocumented migrants after they arrive in Spain?
The Canaries route has been favoured in recent years with controls having been tightened in the Mediterranean.
However, many barely seaworthy vessels have not made it to shore as thousands of migrants risk their lives on the long and dangerous crossing from Morocco or Western Sahara -- 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.
Others try even riskier routes from Mauritania, Senegal and even Gambia, around 1,000 kilometres away.
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A total of 1,457 migrants reached the Spanish islands off the western African coast between Friday night and Sunday morning, the authorities said on X, formerly Twitter, adding to a recent spike in arrivals.
An emergency services spokesman said all of the arrivals hailed from sub-Saharan Africa.
Saturday saw 321 people reach the island of El Hierro aboard one vessel, a rescue services spokesperson told AFP, surpassing the previous record for a single boat of 280 on October 3rd.
Spanish broadcaster TVE showed images of a multicoloured vessel crammed with smiling and waving passengers reaching port.
Latest data from Spain's interior ministry show 23,537 migrants reached the Canaries between January 1st and October 15th.
The first fortnight of this month alone saw 8,561 arrivals -- a record for a fortnight since a previous migration crisis in 2006.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska last week said on a visit to the archipelago the spike in numbers resulted from political "destabilisation in the Sahel".
Canary president Fernando Clavijo has repeatedly called on Madrid and other regions to help them cope with the influx of arrivals, as the islands' authorities have warned they are running out of space in the refugee centres they have.
The tiny island of El Hierro, the second smallest of the Canaries with only 11,000 registered residents, has received around 1,000 migrants over the weekend, earning it the nickname of the 'Spanish Lampedusa' in the local press.
READ ALSO: What happens to undocumented migrants after they arrive in Spain?
The Canaries route has been favoured in recent years with controls having been tightened in the Mediterranean.
However, many barely seaworthy vessels have not made it to shore as thousands of migrants risk their lives on the long and dangerous crossing from Morocco or Western Sahara -- 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.
Others try even riskier routes from Mauritania, Senegal and even Gambia, around 1,000 kilometres away.
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