Madar (International) - Spain's maritime rescue service on Sunday, October 18, 2026, escorted a second boat carrying 177 people, including 17 women and 11 minors, to the port of La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, according to Salvamento Marítimo.
The boat was detected at 12:05 by Spain's external surveillance system about 22 kilometres south of the island, and a rescue vessel escorted it to port, according to Spanish news agency EFE.
According to the migrants' own account reported by the agency, they left M'bour in Senegal nine days earlier and come from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea. None needed hospital treatment; the Red Cross and emergency teams assisted them at the port.
The arrival came hours after a first boat carrying 132 people reached the island before dawn, with two people dead on board.
This brings the number of people who reached the Canaries via the Atlantic route this weekend to 352, including 308 on El Hierro and 44 on Lanzarote, according to the same sources.
