Spanish police have arrested seven crew members of a migrant boat that arrived in the Canary Islands from Senegal in December, after eight passengers, including a toddler, were reportedly killed during the voyage. The boat, which reached La Restinga port on the island of El Hierro on 28 December, carried 224 people, many of whom needed urgent medical treatment for severe injuries sustained during the seven-day journey.
According to investigators, the passengers revealed that the deaths occurred due to violent acts by the crew. Among the victims were a 14-month-old Gambian boy and a Guinean father and son, aged 50 and 18, respectively. Authorities have not disclosed the nationalities of the crew members.
A court in the Canary Islands is handling the case, with evidence suggesting the crew targeted passengers of different nationalities. All seven suspects have been remanded in custody pending further investigation.
In a separate incident, police arrested the crew of another boat that arrived in El Hierro on 3 November 2024, in connection with the deaths of four passengers.
The Canary Islands are facing an overwhelming influx of migrants, particularly from Mali, Senegal, and Morocco, with the perilous open-sea crossing claiming thousands of lives each year. In 2024, migrant arrivals in the archipelago reached a record high of 46,843, accounting for 73% of illegal migration to Spain.
