On the Spanish Canary Island El Hierro more than 850 migrants arrived in ten boats on Saturday, 14 November 2026. This was reported by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. Across the entire Canary Islands the broadcaster recorded twelve boats carrying 1,103 people at that point. A further arrival on El Hierro was still expected.
The figures are an interim tally. On Friday, according to the Spanish Sea rescue 843 people had already been brought ashore on El Hierro, the news agency EFE reported. Rescuers escorted seven boats carrying 643 people to the port, it said. A further 200 people were taken aboard rescue vessels.
On Saturday morning, EFE had initially reported a total of 1,225 arrivals on El Hierro over the two days. This included, in addition to Friday’s tally, 382 people from five boats on Saturday. The later figure reported by RTVE for Saturday reflects a different interim tally. It cannot be treated as a final daily total without further checks.
Those arriving were given assistance at the port La Restinga . Among the 504 people who, according to EFE, arrived there in six boats from Friday evening onwards were 38 women and 39 presumed minors, according to the medical care team. The ages of 21 of them still had to be confirmed.
According to the agency, one boat brought 85 people from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau to La Restinga. According to information recorded on arrival, they had set off from Brufut in Gambia seven days earlier. Three people needed medical assistance, according to EFE; none had to be taken to hospital.
In a temporary accommodation centre on El Hierro, 317 people were staying there by Saturday, according to the report, excluding the latest arrivals. A further 158 people were taken that day on a scheduled passenger ship to Tenerife .
This follows numerous arrivals in the preceding weeks: by Saturday morning, 81 boats had already reached El Hierro in November, according to EFE. By comparison, the agency counted 66 boats from January to the end of October. Local and regional authorities therefore continue to face the task of providing for those arriving and arranging their onward travel.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).