Two more migrant boats reach Canary Islands after deadly sinking

Two migrant boats reached Spain’s Canary Islands, as search efforts continued for 48 people missing from a deadly shipwreck earlier in the weekend. One boat carrying 81 migrants arrived in Tenerife, with at least one person needing hospitalization. Another boat reached Fuerteventura, though the number of passengers was not disclosed. 

These arrivals follow a tragic shipwreck that killed at least nine migrants and left 48 missing, including a minor. Rescuers managed to save 27 of the 84 people attempting the dangerous journey from West Africa.

The disaster prompted the Canary Islands' president, Fernando Clavijo, to urge Spain and the EU to address the growing migrant crisis. Migrant crossings to the Canaries have surged 85% this year, reaching 26,758 by mid-September. Driven by poverty and instability in Africa’s Sahel region, the increase has sparking political tension in Spain as the mainland refuses to take in migrants from the islands.