At least nine migrants died and there are still fifty people missing in a canoe which capsized four miles from the island of El Hierro, with several boys and girls on board. It was the migrants themselves who called for help off the coast, but poor conditions caused the boat to capsize during the rescue process.
The canoe with which they tried to reach the island of El Hierro overturned during the rescue process when several of the occupants moved towards one side of the boat, causing it to become uneven. a few kilometers from the municipality of Valverde, in the area of Las Playas and with unfavorable weather conditions with strong gusts of wind.
According to the survivors’ account, on board were 84 people but the Concepción Arenal maritime guard barely managed to locate 27 and 9 bodies, including that of a teenager around 15 years old. The boat capsized around 3 a.m. 4 miles south of the port of La Estaca and resources were mobilized to try to locate the people who had fallen overboard.
According to data collected by the NGO Caminando Fronteras, the canoe left the Mauritanian coast with 84 people, which would bring the number of victims to 57.
Rescuers also mobilized the Adhara rescue team, which recovered the nine dead bodies and is trying to locate them. 48 others missing. The search operation is composed of the sea guard Mizar, the Helimer 201 helicopter, the sea guard Callíope and the ship Heroínas de Sálvora.
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, regretted this news. “Unfortunately, a new tragedy once again highlights the danger of the Atlantic Route”, wrote the president of the Canary Islands on his official Twitter account, in which he urged Spain and the European Union to act “in a manner determined» in the face of a structural humanitarian drama.
“They are children, women and men. “Lives dying just a few meters from the southern border of Europe,” lamented the head of the Canary Islands executive.
