Seven dead as migrant boat capsizes near Canary Islands port

MADRID (Reuters) -At least seven people died when a migrant boat capsized as rescuers were escorting it to port in Spain's Canary Islands, regional emergency services said on Wednesday.

The open-topped boat, which state broadcaster TVE said was laden with about 180 people, went down as it neared La Restinga harbour on El Hierro, the archipelago's smallest island.

Two 5-year-old girls were among the dead. A 16-year-old girl and four women also died, emergency services said.

A spokesperson for Spain's maritime rescue service said a rescue vessel was escorting the boat to the harbour and as it approached, many of its passengers appeared to rush to one side of the precarious vessel, causing it to capsize.

TVE live footage showed the boat sinking, throwing people - including children - into the water, with many trying to clamber onto the nearby maritime rescue vessel as its crew tossed life preservers to them.

Red Cross spokesperson Alexis Ramos told TVE members of several local dive clubs had helped with the rescue, with many specialist divers supporting the emergency services.

A medical helicopter was sent to help emergency personnel pluck people from the water, the emergency services said.

The number of migrants reaching the Canary Islands from West Africa hit an all-time high in 2024, but the number of arrivals has fallen this year, Interior Ministry data indicates.

The Atlantic route is especially dangerous as rough weather can easily capsize the fragile rafts, dugout-like boats and dinghies used by most migrants.

In the first five months of 2024, 4,808 people died on the Atlantic voyage to the Canaries after departing from Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders.

(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga and Emma Pinedo; Editing by David Latona, Mark Heinrich and Helen Popper)