Over 230 migrants rescued from boat off Spain's Canary Islands

21/10/2024 6:04

        Over 230
        migrants were rescued from one flimsy boat on Sunday in seas off
        Spain's Canary Islands, coastguards said.
        
        Fourteen women and three children were found in the same
        boat which contained a total of 231 people, rescuers said.
        
        It is the largest number of people to be rescued from the
        same boat off the island of Gran Canaria this year, Spanish
        coastguards told Reuters.
        
        Spanish coastguards towed the wooden boat when they found
        the migrants close to Gran Canaria's main port.
        
        Some 32,878 migrants have taken the perilous route in boats
        from West Africa to the Canary Islands between January and Oct.
        15, according to government figures, a rise of 39.7% from the
        same period last year.
        
        The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands has seen the
        fastest growth in irregular migration in recent years, though
        numbers remain below those on the Central Mediterranean route
        towards Italy.