On Thursday, Spanish Maritime Rescue assisted 245 people, according to a provisional count, who were aboard three inflatable boats in waters near the Canary Island of Lanzarote, a spokesperson for the state agency told EFE.

No data is available broken down by gender, how many of them may be minors, or their nationalities, according to sources consulted by local media.

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Early in the morning, a Maritime Rescue vessel arrived at the port of Arrecife with the 111 occupants of an inflatable boat that was spotted 62 nautical miles (approximately 114 kilometers) from the capital of Lanzarote.

This rescue was preceded by two others. The first group of 45 people arrived at the same port in the early hours of the morning, after Maritime Rescue received a report that a merchant ship had spotted an inflatable boat sailing 85 nautical miles (approximately 157 kilometers) north of the island of Lanzarote.

According to the Canary Islands regional government’s Emergency Services, these individuals were generally in good health, so no one required hospitalization.

El alcalde de Arrecife exige a Pedro Sánchez medidas ante la llegada de pateras

Yonathan de León reclama al Gobierno central que actúe ante la llegada de varias embarcaciones y plantea que las personas sean llegadas a Marruecos.#Lanzarote #politica pic.twitter.com/m1Jgrvct3P

— www.elchaplon.com (@chaplon_com) August 20, 2026

The text reads, “The mayor of Arrecife demands action from Pedro Sánchez in response to the arrival of migrant boats. Yonathan de León is calling on the central government to take action regarding the arrival of several boats and suggests that the migrants be taken to Morocco.”

Later, 89 people rescued from another makeshift vessel in waters near the island disembarked at the same dock. Three of them were taken to a hospital for various medical conditions. Care for these migrants is ongoing, so no information has yet been released regarding their health status after disembarking.

These three are the first irregular migrant boats to reach the Canary Islands since August 4, when a makeshift vessel, known locally as a “cayuco,” carrying more than 130 people, arrived in waters near the island of El Hierro.

Data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior confirms a shift in migration trends so far in 2016. From January to August 15 of this year, 14,411 people arrived in Spain by sea, 28.5% fewer than in the same period of 2015.

This percentage reduction is even more pronounced in the Canary Islands, where 4,808 people arrived, 59.5% fewer than in the previous year, according to official statistics.

UNICEF warned that hundreds of minors in the Spanish city of Ceuta are living in unsafe, unsanitary conditions following the mass arrival on July 30, while they wait to be moved to safe locations.

Between July 30 and 31, more than 70,000 people crossed the border from Morocco… pic.twitter.com/yXZKLaXRqQ

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) August 19, 2026

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