Spanish authorities said on Sunday that hopes of finding any of the 48 migrants missing since their boat sank near the Spanish island of El Hierro were dwindling, in what threatens to be the deadliest incident of its kind in 30 years of crossing from Africa to the Canary Islands.
Emergency and rescue services said that nine people, including a child, were previously confirmed dead after the boat sank in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Rescuers were able to recover 27 out of 84 migrants who were trying to reach Spanish beaches on Saturday. A Spanish Coast Guard spokesman said that three patrol boats and three helicopters participated in a renewed search for the others on Sunday.
“Unfortunately we are assuming the worst. The search is continuing but the chances of finding a living person appear slim,” a commentator from the Canary Islands government told Reuters on Sunday.
Spanish authorities said the migrants were from Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.
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Data from the European Union border agency (Frontex) showed that the number of migrants crossing from West Africa to the Canary Islands increased by 154 percent from January to July, bringing their total to 21,620 migrants in the first seven months, while Numbers have decreased on roads in Central and West Africa. The Mediterranean at the same time.
Crossings from Türkiye to Greece rose by 57 percent and across the English Channel to Britain by 22 percent.
Shortly after midnight on Saturday, Spanish emergency services received a phone call from the boat, which was located about 6 kilometers east of El Hierro. They added that she drowned during the rescue attempt. Winds and poor visibility made the rescue very difficult.
“After what happened yesterday, if predictions of the arrival of migrant boats come true, it will be the largest humanitarian crisis to happen to the Canary Islands in 30 years,” Candelaria Delgado of the Canary Islands government told reporters on Sunday.
Rescue services said on Sunday that three of those rescued were suffering from hypothermia and dehydration.
The nine migrants who died will be buried on Monday and Tuesday. Among the dead was a child between 12 and 15 years old, according to Walking Borders, an NGO that helps migrants.
As hopes of finding more survivors faded, police set up a morgue in El Hierro, authorities said.
Three more boats arrived in the Canary Islands during the night with 208 migrants on board.
The calm seas and gentle winds associated with late summer in the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa have led to a drought A renewed wave of immigrants Local authorities said this month.
During about 30 years of migrants crossing the islands, the deadliest shipwreck recorded to date occurred in 2009 off the island of Lanzarote when 25 people died.
