At least 9 dead and 48 missing after migrant boat capsizes near Canary Islands

Rescue teams began search operations on Sunday morning, October 8, for about 48 missing illegal migrants in the waters near the island of El Hierro in the Canary Islands, Spain. There are fears that the capsizing of this boat, which has so far resulted in the recovery of 9 bodies, including that of a child, could become the deadliest incident of its kind in the last 30 years. Rescuers managed to save 27 of these migrants who were attempting to reach Spain from Africa. It is reported that a total of 84 people were on board this boat. According to Spanish officials, these migrants include citizens of Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. Spanish rescue services received a distress signal from the boat shortly after midnight on Saturday, which was about seven kilometers from El Hierro island. The boat sank as rescue teams approached. 21 people, including three children, were reported missing following the capsizing of a migrant boat in southern Italy. According to Anselmo Pestana, the representative of the Spanish government in the Canary Islands, these migrants had been without food on the water for at least two days. This official emphasized that strong winds and limited visibility have made the rescue operation very challenging. On the same night, three other boats carrying 208 illegal migrants arrived in the Canary Islands. Typically, at this time of year, the waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa are relatively calm, and the winds are not very strong, a situation that, according to local officials, has led to an increase in boat migration towards the shores of Spain. According to Frontex, the European Union's border agency, 21,620 people have reached Spain via this route in the first seven months of this year, a figure that represents a 154% increase compared to the same period last year. The deadliest incident in the approximately 30 years that illegal migrants have used this route occurred in 2009, fifteen years ago, near the island of Lanzarote, resulting in the deaths of 25 people. There are fears that this record may now be broken with the discovery of the bodies of some of the missing from Saturday night's incident.