Women and girls die in Canary Islands port after migrant boat capsizes
Tragedy struck a boatload of migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa at the very end of their journey when their boat capsized within reach of the shore of the Canary Islands.
Four women and three girls drowned in the chaotic scene in El Hierro's port while survivors clung to ropes and life preservers tossed to them by rescuers.
Spain's maritime rescue service, which located the boat some six miles from shore, said the boat keeled over as rescuers started removing children on to a rescue craft that was positioned between the migrant boat and the quay.
The movement of people on the boat caused it to tip and then turn over, throwing the occupants into the water.
Migrants were helped to safety (Europa Press via AP)
Emergency services for the Canary Islands said four women, a teenage girl and two younger girls died in the accident. One of the girls was found by a rescue diver.
'The drama witnessed on El Hierro should move us all, (those) lives were lost in an attempt to find a better future,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Twitter.
A helicopter evacuated two more children, a girl and a boy, to a local hospital in a serious condition after they nearly drowned, the service added.
Local media reports said the small boat appeared to be packed with over 100 people. Spanish rescuers and members of the Red Cross pulled people out of the water.
Fernando Clavijo, regional president for the Canary Islands, said that there were people trapped inside a part of the boat who 'wouldn't get out'.
The Spanish archipelago located off Africa's western coast has for years been a main route for migrants who risk their lives in dinghies and rubber boats unfit for long journeys in the open sea. Thousands have been known to die on the way to European territory.
Nearly 47,000 people who made the crossing last year reached the archipelago, surpassing previous records for a second time. Most were citizens of Mali, Senegal and Morocco, with many boarding boats to Spain from the coast of Mauritania.
The arrivals include thousands of unaccompanied children.
Some 10,800 people had arrived via the Atlantic to the Canary Islands by mid-May, which was down by 34% compared to the same period in 2024.
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