Record number of migrants arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands

Spain has declared a migration emergency in the Canary Islands after the arrival of more than 9,000 people in its Atlantic Ocean territory since the start of November. Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said it had rescued 1,488 migrants aboard 14 dinghies, also known as pirogues, most of whom arrived on El Hierro in the Canary Islands from West Africa on Saturday. That’s broken the record of 1,461 people rescued six years earlier in November 2020. Spain’s Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres is visiting ⁠El Hierro on Sunday to discuss the surge in migrant arrivals. Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from El Hierro, said the arrival this year has set a record in the 32 years since statistics have been collected.