8 migrants die as boat overturns near Spanish island
Spanish rescue services say at least eight people have died after a migrant boat carrying more than 30 people hit rocks close to a small port on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.At least eight people died after a migrant boat carrying more than 30 people hit rocks close to a small port on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands Spanish rescue services said Wednesday.
The boat was one of 17 intercepted in the islands' waters in the past 24 hours. About 450 people were rescued in the other boats, but one died later.
The Canary Islands emergency service said the Lanzarote boat crashed into pier rocks and overturned in the Orzola area on the north of the island late Tuesday.
Video images showed rescue workers and residents pulling young men in T-shirts from the water in the dark and other migrants sitting on the rocks.
The emergency services said eight bodies from the boat were found and 28 people rescued. They said search operations were continuing for one person believed missing.
In the other incidents, the national rescue service and Civil Guard rescued some 450 people, including women and children, arriving in 16 boats near Gran Canaria island. One person died.
Anselmo Pestana, the central government's representative on the islands, said the arrivals “generated difficulties but obviously none more painful than to see bodies, people arriving on our coasts dead.”
He said that many possibly didn't know how to swim, and thanked residents for helping in the rescue.
Officials said the migrants were from northwest African and sub-Saharan countries. Many had set sail from Morocco several days ago.
Many of the rescued were taken to the Arguineguín dock on the southwestern coast of Gran Canaria, where nearly 600 people of different origins are being kept, some in tents. Numbers on the dock rose to more than 2,000 recently.
Spain has promised to set up more tents to accommodate the people arriving.
More than 19,000 people fleeing poverty, violence or other circumstances have arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands this year, a 1,000% increase from the same period in 2019. More than 500 have died in the attempt. Around half of the arrivals — and most of the deaths — have been in the past 30 days, a spike that has strained resources on the archipelago.