After an intense weekend of immigrants arriving in the Canary Islands, with 1,136 people on board 16 boats, this morning the islands woke up to the worst news. Thirteen people, including three women, died after falling into the water from the flimsy inflatable boat with which they were trying to reach the shores of the islands from Taruma, in Al-Aaiun province.
The boat was traveling with a total of 51 people, of whom 38 arrived alive, as reported yesterday on the social network X, formerly Twitter, by Helena Maleno, founder of the oenagé Caminando Fronteras.
From Salvament Marítim it was indicated yesterday that there was no record of this shipwreck, given that it did not take place at the time of the rescue. "It is possible that the boat left Morocco with 51 people and 13 died on the journey, but without a doubt, when action was taken, there were no people in the water and no victims", these sources indicate. They add that the immigrants themselves, when they arrived on the mainland, did not say that the occupants of the boat were missing. From Caminando Fronteras it is assured that 13 people are missing and that they have died during the crossing, according to the oenagé contrasted with witnesses of the families.
Yesterday morning, like the weekend, was intense in terms of arrivals. A boat with 45 people arrived in Lanzarote. While the rescue services were acting there they detected a tire that was in a complicated situation and rescued 47 people. Shortly afterwards, action was taken in Fuerteventura on the accident boat: 39 people arrived alive and 12 died in the water, as migration expert Txema Santana tells X. Yesterday morning a shepherd was rescued on the island of Tenerife.
The arrival does not stop and from the Government of the Canary Islands, the president, Fernando Clavijo, is demanding more means from the State to properly attend to the immigrants who arrive on its shores. The Executive fears an intensification in the coming weeks, when the state of the sea improves, and which is usually a strong moment for the arrival of shepherds. The island of El Hierro has already been overwhelmed. Today, 500 immigrants will be transferred by boat from El Hierro to Tenerife after more than 400 people arrived on this small island this weekend.
