A rescue operation is underway after a boat reportedly transporting 100 migrants capsized when passengers shifted to one side of the vessel to reach safety.
According to local reports, at least five people have died and a baby is missing after the boat capsized at around 9:30am in the port of La Restinga on El Hierro, Canary Islands.
Two women are reported to have drowned, but it is currently unknown whether they lost their lives in the accident or had died earlier during the crossing, a spokesperson for the Government Delegation told EFE.
Images from the scene showed Maritime Rescue towing the small vessel through the waters, but the boat capsized just five metres from the dock as occupants prepared to disembark onto a rescue boat.
As passengers were being transferred from the boat to the Maritime Rescue vessel for passage to the port, many of the occupants tried to quickly approach the rescue vehicle when the small boat capsized, its weight falling on to one side.
The boat had more than 100 occupants on board, according to initial estimates, including babies, and many have fallen into the sea following the incident.
The Spanish port’s emergency services are caring for those that fell into the water, while dock workers and diving clubs are also participating in rescue efforts.
At the port of La Restinga, the Red Cross were also reportedly waiting to assist the migrants.
According to 112 Canarias, a medicalised helicopter from the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC) has been activated to transport the wounded to Tenerife.
The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo , has also announced that he is visiting the island and is currently traveling to the port of La Restinga.
Clavijo took to X following the incident, and said: ‘The helplessness is great, much encouragement to the medical and rescue teams who have to face this tragedy’.
This is the first migrant boat to arrive on the island after nearly two weeks of halting the Atlantic route, and one day after the visit of a group of MEPs who warned that migration to El Hierro would continue in the coming months, according to El Pais.
The tragedy comes just eight months after the sinking of another migrant boat carrying at least 84 people off the coast of El Hierro.
The boat capsized in the early hours of September 28 as it was being rescued by Maritime Rescue just four miles from the coast.
By late morning, 27 migrants – including four minors – had been rescued alive, and nine bodies – including at least one child – had been recovered in the Las Playas area, in the municipality of Valverde.
Fifty people were missing and five were hospitalised.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
