Boat carrying 280 migrants ends up in Canary Islands

A small wooden boat carrying around 280 migrants has rocked up in Spain’s Canary Islands.

It was Tuesday when the boat arrived on the very remote island of El Hierro, which is said to be about 380km (238 miles) off of Africa’s western coast, so it’s impressive for such a boat to last so long out in the ocean.

There have been a whole load of rescue workers with the migrants since they arrived on their wooden boat and they have claimed that the migrants are said to have come from the sub-Saharan African origin.

This migrant crossing is also a record one because seeing 280 arrive is now the largest number of migrants ever to arrive in the archipelago in one single go and crossing.

Record-high migrant crossing to Canary Islands

The route which many migrants take each year between the Canary Islands and Africa is regarded as one of the most dangerous that anyone can undertake, but such is the desperation to get closer to Europe and a new life, that people take this risk.

Despite it being one of the most dangerous routes and moments in a migrant’s life, this channel between Africa and the Canary Islands is still one of the most frequently used and travelled by some in Africa.

Since the start of 2023, it’s reported that around 240 people have died or gone missing while trying to tackle this crossing, which highlights how poor conditions must be in Africa if people are willing to risk their lives.

En todo el tiempo que llevo siguiendo esta ruta de cerca no vi nunca un cayuco con tantas personas a bordo. Por no mencionar la fortuna que han tenido de tocar tierra. Cuando vean en el mapa a donde llegaron no lo van a creer. pic.twitter.com/YXlOEoZj10

— Txema Santana ✳️ (@txemita) October 3, 2023

Journalist and former migration advisor Txema Santana has recently taken to social media to speak about this record-breaking migrant crossing saying: “I’ve never seen a boat with so many people on board.”

Migrants Continue to cross into Europe

The risk-reward is clearly heavily favouring the latter for people in Africa contemplating fleeing their home countries because this route is becoming more and more frequently used, largely down to the tighter restrictions put in place in the Mediterranean.

For migrants wishing to cross the Mediterranean, they will usually leave from the north of Africa and try to reach Europe, however, governments across the continent have stepped up their attempts to block migrants from entering and landing on their shores.

Since January 1 and September 30 this year, it’s believed that a total of 14,976 migrants have arrived in the Canary Islands, which is a steep increase of 19.8% on the same period last year, with these figures coming from Spain’s Interior Ministry.

Just on Monday, the Senegalese navy claimed that they intercepted and halted four boats over a three-day period leaving Africa and seemingly were destined for the Canary Islands or other parts of Europe.