About 1,500 migrants reach Spain's Canary Islands in one day, a post-2020 high

Nearly 1,500 migrants arrived in Spain's Canary Islands on Saturday, the largest single-day total since 2020, according to the maritime rescue service cited by the EFE news agency. A total of 1,488 people in 14 boats were rescued by the Spanish coastguard, continuing a rise in arrivals from West African countries since October.

The previous one-day record was 1,461 people rescued off the islands on November 7, 2020. Arrivals this year remain below the same period last year overall, but the recent surge has strained reception and emergency services on some of the smaller islands. Most of those rescued were from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Conakry, and most boats landed at El Hierro.

Spain's Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres was scheduled to visit El Hierro on Sunday to discuss the increase.