Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – Maritime Rescue services in Spain have brought 327 migrants safely to shore on the island of El Hierro after rescuing them from two canoes during the night and early hours of Monday. The Salvamar Navia and Salvamar Diphda vessels transferred the groups to the port of La Restinga, where emergency and health teams provided immediate assistance.

According to emergency services, one migrant required further medical attention and was transferred to the Hospital Insular Nuestra Señora de los Reyes in Valverde.

The first vessel was intercepted late Sunday night, seven miles off La Restinga, and reached port around 11:00 p.m. aboard the Salvamar Navia. On board were 192 people from Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, Ghana and Sierra Leone.

Most were men, but the group also included 19 women and seven minors, among them four babies. Migrants reported having departed from Barra, Gambia, after a perilous seven-day crossing.

The second canoe was located early Monday morning, less than two miles from the coast, and was escorted to port around 5:00 a.m. by the Salvamar Diphda. It carried 135 people of sub-Saharan origin, including five women and one minor.

According to emergency services, passengers said they had left Abéné, Senegal, also following a seven-day journey. The group included nationals of Senegal, Mali and Guinea-Conakry.

Upon disembarkation, all 327 migrants were attended to by the Red Cross Emergency Response Team (ERIE), the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), La Restinga Port surveillance personnel, the Civil Guard and the National Police.

They were later transferred to the Temporary Foreigners’ Care Center (CATE) in San Andrés, Valverde, where they will remain under police custody. Members of the NGO collective Corazón naranja – Ebrima Sonko are supporting their care until they are relocated to other facilities outside the island.