Madar (Nouakchott) - More than 400 irregular migrants reached the Spanish island of El Hierro on Thursday, October 22, 2026, aboard four boats that left the coasts of Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, one of them from Nouadhibou, the Spanish agency EFE reported, the latest sign of the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands picking up again since late summer.
Four boats in one day
According to EFE, the first boat arrived at dawn with 62 people after seven days at sea from Saint-Louis in Senegal, followed by one carrying 190 people, including 22 women and 8 minors, from Tanji in Gambia after seven days; two of its passengers were taken to hospital.
The third carried 33 Senegalese, including 14 minors, who had left Nouadhibou four days earlier, while a rescue helicopter spotted a fourth boat about 21 miles southwest of La Restinga with 130 to 150 people on board.
An autumn of rising numbers
Spanish Interior Ministry figures published by La Razon show 4,162 migrants reached the islands between August 16 and October 15, up 159% on a year earlier, although the total since the start of the year remains 33.5% lower.
According to Diario de Avisos, September alone saw 1,970 arrivals, up 173% on September 2025, followed by 1,652 arrivals on 17 boats between October 1 and 11, against just 83 in the same period last year. Since September, 499 minors have arrived, 432 of them unaccompanied.
The Canaries call for Frontex
The Canary Islands government on Tuesday, October 13, asked for the EU border agency Frontex to be deployed on the Atlantic route and for more Civil Guard and national police officers. "The Canary route has been reactivated," said regional security chief Nieves Lady Barreto, citing a letter to Spain's interior minister that had gone unanswered.
Proposals from the Canarian Coalition include a police operation coordinated with Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, with Europol, against smuggling networks, the same newspaper reported.
As of publication, Madar had not found any official Mauritanian reaction to the resumption of departures from Nouadhibou.
Update, Friday, October 23: another 566 migrants reached El Hierro aboard four boats rescued by Spain's maritime rescue service, carrying 205, 170, 41 and 150 people respectively, including at least 16 women and 27 minors, after crossings of five to seven days from Barra in Gambia and Saint-Louis in Senegal, EFE reported.
