Four dead as migrant boat capsises off Canary Islands

Arguineguin, Spain

At least four people died when a boat carrying about 30 migrants sank off Spain's Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

The 35 migrants belonged to the Maghreb region.

At least 28 were rescued and some are still missing, emergency services said.

Rescuers were searching for more possible victims following the accident off the fishing village of Orzola in the north of Lanzarote island late Tuesday.

Migrant arrivals in Canary Islands have surged to 17,000 this year – ten times last year’s total – as north Africans grow desperate after losing their income from tourism, a sector hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Spain's socialist government announced last week it plans to set up camps for some 7,000 people and launch a diplomatic offensive in various African countries to try to curb the influx of migrants to the holiday islands.

The current wave has echoes of the crisis of 2006 when 30,000 migrants reached the Canaries, prompting Spain to step up patrols and ink repatriation agreements.