Increased surveillance on African coasts has put to the meridian island in check. Although in the past boats accidentally ended up in The ironNow, since their departure, migrants who risk their lives at sea and do not want to be detected by the gendarmerie that guard the exit points towards the Canary Islands route mark this enclave in the Atlantic as a preferred destination. And since Tuesday 15 canoes have arrived at the port of La Restinga with 1,864 people on board.
Only during yesterday’s day did they touch land in El Hierro five barges with 590 people inside. The Adhara rescuer was mobilized at dawn to assist the first, which was carrying 103 migrants and which It was located by the radar of the SIVE surveillance system nine kilometers from the coast. The Maritime Rescue work continued around seven in the morning, when a canoe with 112 sub-Saharans was detected. Half an hour after taking them to dry land, the rescue entity’s patrolman had to escort another barge with 62 men. In the early afternoon a new one arrived with 163 members and around 6:00 p.m. another two more with 150.
But it is not the only point of the Archipelago that had to be attended to at the foot of the dock yesterday. In 24 hours they sighted Canary Islands in total thirteen boats with more than 1,047 migrants on board, in the absence of data from the boats located near Tenerife and El Hierro in the late afternoon. In addition to El Hierro, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The first counted four canoes that carried more than 212 people. Meanwhile, in the south of the round island, three with 171 were registered.
Thus, so far this year 18,151 people have arrived irregularly to the Archipelago and El Hierro has placed itself ahead of Gran Canaria in the statistics., according to the provisional count of the Red Cross. Meridian Island has accumulated 4,534 landings compared to 4,020 on the capital island. And it is already 608 away from surpassing the Canary Islands with the most arrivals in 2023: Lanzarotewhich has received 5,142 migrants.
In the last five days, 43% of the barges sighted this year have arrived at Meridian Island.
Given the alarming numbers, he president of the Canary IslandsFernando Clavijo, criticized yesterday that the central government seems “blind, deaf and dumb.” «Not a visit, nor a call, nor a response to our demands before the strong rebound of the dangerous Canarian route,” he denounced.
Although Lanzarote had been the destination for irregular vessels since the beginning of the year, this summer the trend has changed and now the center of the board is in the La Restinga dock. In the last five months – since May – 4,516 migrants have arrived there, that is, 99.6% of the accumulated annual arrivals to the island, of which this week alone – 1,864 – already represent 42.5%.
This ‘peak’ situation has its origins in more than 1,500 kilometers, in Senegal, where the tension policy and social atmosphere that permeates the country and the good maritime conditions have pushed the population to enter the Atlantic in search of a better future. Although the patrol boats waiting on the African coast do not make it easy for them. To avoid them, The Herreña route is the most effective, since its route is the furthest from the coast, issue that also makes it the most dangerous.
Accommodation and logistical resources have been completely collapsed in the last four days on that island. El Pinar has received a number of people that already exceeds those registered in the municipality -1,825-. According to the Government Delegation, around 1,200 migrants remain on the island after the rest were transferred to other islands and the Peninsula.
The president of the Island Council, Alpidio Armas, assures that the transfers to decongest the reception capacity of El Hierro are taking place with “agility.” «In a maximum period of 24-48 hours they are leaving, This is not the case for unaccompanied minor migrants, who continue over time and are the responsibility of the Government of the Canary Islands», he assured.
In these five days of migratory frenzy More than 167 minors have landed on the island. Currently, there are about 200 children and young people who sleep in the El Pinar Shelter, the Valverde student residence and dependent on Civil Protection. The Ministry of Social Welfare emphasizes that these referrals are also being carried out, especially towards Tenerife. The objective is to respect the maximum quota of 40 minors set by the Executive for El Hierro.
