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Spain's El Hierro declares emergency as boats from West Africa arrive in record numbers

8 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Spain's El Hierro declares emergency as boats from West Africa arrive in record numbers — Photo : images.wsj.net (adresse collée)

The Canary island of El Hierro declared an emergency and appealed to Madrid for help after more than 3,300 people reached its shores on about 30 boats since the start of November, local authorities said.

The island has only about 11,400 residents. Its governing council is seeking temporary accommodation, and its president, Alpidio Armas, described conditions at the island's hospital as undesirable. The head of the Canary Islands government, Fernando Clavijo, called the situation "absolutely unsustainable" and said arrivals are approaching the record levels of 2024. Medical staff have been brought in from other islands.

Spanish maritime rescue services picked up 3,261 people around the archipelago in the first six days of November. Two people were found dead on a boat this week, and survivors said five others probably died during the crossing. At least nine migrants and refugees have died off the islands in recent weeks.

The surge reverses a recent trend. Arrivals peaked above 46,000 in 2024, then fell sharply as surveillance tightened and cooperation with origin and transit countries grew. Spain's Interior Ministry counted 13,327 arrivals by sea between January and October this year, 5.5 percent fewer than a year earlier. Patrols off Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco have pushed departures further south, to The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, making the Atlantic crossing longer. Senegalese police said they intercepted 142 people off Dakar on Saturday.

The crisis is felt well beyond Spain. Algeria, itself a transit and destination country on the Saharan routes, has long argued that lasting answers lie in development and cooperation with the countries of origin rather than border controls alone. As departures move to ever more distant coasts, the human cost of tighter enforcement is rising along with the distances.

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