Spanish authorities rescued 260 people on Sunday who were traveling in two precarious boats, including 57 minors and 30 women.
The Maritime Rescue Service and the Emergency Service of the Spanish Canary archipelago were alerted to the presence of the two vessels near the coast of El Hierro late on Sunday afternoon.
Due to the proximity to the coast, they disembarked shortly afterwards in La Restinga, south of El Hierro, where they received assistance from the Maritime Rescue Service and medical teams present at the scene.
Sources linked to the Spanish authorities told the EFE agency that four people with mild health problems were taken to medical centers.
The first boat to arrive at El Hierro carried 104 people, including 35 minors and 20 women.
The second vessel carried 156 people, of which 22 were minors and ten were women.
Since January, more than 350 boats have arrived in the Balearic Islands, transporting more than 6,500 migrants, according to a count by the EFE news agency based on data from the Ministry of the Interior (corresponding to the Ministry of Internal Affairs) and the Spanish Government Delegation in the Balearics.
In 2024, 5,882 migrants arrived in the archipelago by sea, according to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior’s Annual National Security Report.