A little boat with 280 people looking for a new home has arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands.
The boat reached the faraway island of El Hierro on Tuesday. The island is located about 380km (238 miles) away from Africa’s western coast.
Rescue workers said the people on the boat were from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and it was the largest group of migrants to ever arrive in the archipelago at one time.
Many people from Africa travel to Europe by crossing the Canary Islands. This is a route that is often used, but it is also very risky and can be dangerous for the migrants.
“I’ve never seen a boat with so many people on board,” said Txema Santana, a journalist and former migration adviser, on social media after the ship arrived.
Since the beginning of this year, 140 people have died or gone missing while attempting to cross, as stated by the International Organization for Migration.
More people have been using the route in recent years because it has become harder for people to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Africa’s northern coast.
From January 1 to September 30 of this year, a total of 14,976 people moved to the Canary Islands, which is 19. 8% more than the same period last year, as reported by Spain’s interior ministry.
Senegal’s navy stopped four boats in the past three days and found over 600 people on board.
In August, it is thought that around 60 people died on a boat that was discovered near Cape Verde, an African island country. Cape Verde is located along the path many migrants take to reach the Canaries.
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