Migrants rescued in Atlantic storm reach Spain’s El Hierro as election campaign begins

Men, women and children have barely survived one of the world’s deadliest migration crossings after an Atlantic storm. Their boat was sinking when the Spanish Coast Guard found them, after at least six days at sea. Boats are towed day and night to La Restinga port on El Hierro, the smallest and most westerly of the Canary Islands. Boats usually leave Senegal and sail far out into the Atlantic to avoid patrols further up the African coast. More than 7,500 migrants have landed on El Hierro in two weeks, before being sent to neighbouring islands or the mainland. Regional authorities say arrivals are unsustainable. They land as a general election campaign starts. The government is regularising the status of hundreds of thousands of migrants, saying Spain needs immigration. Opposition parties say that creates a pull factor and strains schools and hospitals. Overall, migrant arrivals are down 61% so far this year, but crossings usually pick up in autumn when sea conditions are more favourable. Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith reports from El Hierro in the Canary Islands. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X: https://x.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #AlJazeeraEnglish #Spain #ElHierro #CanaryIslands #Migration #Atlantic #News