At least nine people, including a child, have been confirmed dead and 27 rescued after a shipwreck off the Spanish coast near the island of El Hierro. Patrol boats and helicopters are currently searching for 48 refugees and migrants who remain missing after their boat sank during the early hours of Saturday morning.
Emergency services reported that the search continues, but hopes of finding survivors are fading. The regional President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, indicated that the missing individuals are presumed dead, and more bodies are expected to wash ashore in the coming days.
The passengers, who were attempting to reach El Hierro from Nouadhibou in Mauritania, included individuals from Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The boat sank approximately four miles east of El Hierro, hampered by adverse weather conditions that complicated rescue efforts.
Canary Islands Minister of Social Welfare, Candelaria Delgado, warned that if the trend of migrant boats continues, this could lead to the largest humanitarian crisis in the Canary Islands in three decades. The nine deceased individuals are set to be buried in the coming days, while a morgue has been established on El Hierro to accommodate the situation.
This incident follows a similar tragedy in early September, where 39 individuals lost their lives in a shipwreck off Senegal while attempting to reach the Canary Islands, a common gateway for migrants seeking to enter mainland Europe.