At least seven women and girls died, and a baby remains missing, after a migrant boat capsized while disembarking at the port of El Hierro, a small island in Spain’s Canary Islands, on Wednesday. The incident occurred just five meters from the dock, according to emergency services.
The deceased include three minors: two five-year-old girls and a 16-year-old girl. The vessel was reportedly carrying around 150 people, all believed to have departed from northwest Africa.
Officials say the boat capsized during a critical phase of the rescue operation—at the port—when many passengers stood up at once, destabilizing the vessel. The Spanish government’s delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, highlighted the difficulty of this moment: “This part of the operation is usually the most delicate.”
Pestana also noted that the sea had been rough in recent days and that many of the migrants were in a state of extreme exhaustion, which may have contributed to the rapid sinking of the vessel. “Many arrive in a state of stiffness and exhaustion, making it difficult to rescue them immediately,” he said.
Emergency services treated several children for severe drowning symptoms. A three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl were airlifted to a hospital. Four other children were taken to a medical facility with respiratory issues.
This is the first migrant boat to arrive in El Hierro in approximately two weeks.
So far in 2024, nearly 47,000 migrants have made the dangerous sea journey from northwest Africa to the Canary Islands. According to NGO Walking Borders, nearly 10,000 migrants are estimated to have died attempting the crossing in the same period.
“This is a human tragedy that underlines the ongoing risks of maritime migration,” Pestana added.
