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The boat carrying the pregnant mother had set off from Tan-Tan, a province in Morocco located about 135 nautical miles southeast of Lanzarote, according to the Spanish coast guard.
After leaving the hospital, the mother and infant are expected to go to a humanitarian center for migrants and then likely be transferred to a reception center for mothers and young children on a different island, as stated by Cristina Ruiz, a spokesperson for the Spanish government in Las Palmas, the capital of the Canaries, to Reuters.
These recent arrivals contribute to the thousands of migrants who attempt to reach the Canaries from the western African coast annually, undertaking a dangerous sea journey that results in the loss of many lives.
Migrants arrive on a small boat at La Restinga port on the island of El Hierro in the Canaries on Feb. 4, 2024. Spanish migration charity Walking Borders said 9,757 people died on the Atlantic Route to the Canary Islands from West Africa in 2024. (Europa Press via AP)
Thanks to good weather, the rescue operation was straightforward, Domingo Trujillo, captain of the Spanish coast guard ship that rescued the migrants – a total of 60 people including 14 women and four children – told Spanish wire service EFE.
“The baby was crying, which indicated to us that it was alive and there were no problems, and we asked the woman’s permission to undress her and clean her,” he said. “The umbilical cord had already been cut by one of her fellow passengers. The only thing we did was to check the child, give her to her mother and wrap them up for the trip.”
Overnight, the Canary Islands’ rescue services recovered two more boats, bearing a total of 144 people.
According to Spanish migration charity Walking Borders, 9,757 people died on the Atlantic Route to the Canary Islands from West Africa in 2024. The route from Morocco and Western Sahara are most commonly used by women who routinely suffer sexual violence, discrimination, racism and deportations while in transit.
Trujillo said the crews were exhausted but proud of their work.
“Almost every night we leave at dawn and arrive back late,” he said. “This case is very positive, because it was with a newborn, but in all the services we do, even if we are tired, we know we are helping people in distress.”
