At least 170 migrants were rescued from three mi-grant boats by Spanish authorities, that were drifting off the Canary Islands overnight on Wednesday.
This came just hours after a packed dinghy sank in the area, resulting in at least two fatalities. Spain’s coast guard saved 53 migrants near the island of Lanzarote and another 61, including a mother and her baby, near the island of Gran Canaria. The migrants found near Gran Canaria were all taken to the hospital for mild conditions.
Spain’s coast guard also intercepted another boat early on Thursday with 54 migrants on board near Lanzarote who were all in good condition. Unfortu-nately, the rescue operations came after a dinghy carrying migrants sank about 160 kilometres south-east of Gran Canaria. The coast guard found the body of a minor and later that of a man in the area.
A Moroccan patrol boat rescued 24 people, ac-cording to Spain’s coast guard, which said it did not know how many people were missing.
Spanish non-profit group Walking Borders re-ported that at least 39 people, including four women and a baby, died after waiting for over 12 hours for assistance when their migrant boat sank off the coast of the Canary Islands.
Spain is a popular destination for migrants seek-ing a better life in Europe, and the number of boats heading for the Canaries from northwestern Africa has increased in recent days due to favourable weather conditions.
The Atlantic is known for its strong currents, making such trips dangerous. Over 1,500 migrants arrived in the Canaries during the first two weeks of June, according to interior ministry figures. The migrant route from West Africa to the Canary Islands across the Atlantic has become more popular in recent years as authorities have cracked down on illegal migration in the Mediterranean Sea.
It’s important to prioritize the safety of migrants and work towards preventing such incidents from happening again.—AFP
