Over 1,000 migrants reach Spain’s Canary Islands in single day
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An officer checking 148 sub-Saharan immigrants that include 20 minors and eight women, after arriving at the port of La Restinga, El Hierro, Canary Island, Spain, on Oct 20, 2023.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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ARGUINEGUIN, Gran Canaria – Over 1,000 migrants arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands in a single day on Saturday after making the dangerous journey from Africa, including on a boat carrying 320 people that rescuers said was the most packed vessel they had ever seen.
The Red Cross, which was helping to treat the migrants, said the wooden boat that arrived at the island of El Hierro marked a record number of arrivals in a single boat.
The previous record was a boat carrying 271 people that arrived at El Hierro on Oct 3.
Saturday’s arrivals included 783 in El Hierro, 98 in Tenerife and 150 in Gran Canaria, the Red Cross said. The passengers included women and small children.
In Gran Canaria, the coast guard towed a wooden boat carrying migrants, including a toddler, into the port of Arguineguin. Boats in previous arrivals were docked in the port.
The seven islands of the Atlantic archipelago have become the main destination for migrants trying to reach Spain,
At least 1,000 people have died attempting the crossing so far in 2023, according to the Walking Borders charity.
Spain’s acting migration minister pledged an aid package worth €50 million (S$72.7 million) on Thursday to help the Canary Islands cope with the “extraordinary migration flow”. REUTERS
