Spain: Baby born during rescue of migrants off the Canaries

A baby was born Tuesday evening during the rescue operation of 35 migrants located in the Atlantic Ocean off the Spanish island of Fuerteventura, announced the emergency services of the Canary archipelago.

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On Tuesday evening "the sea rescue service transferred the 35 occupants of a boat located 37 nautical miles from Fuerteventura to Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura) , " they said on their Twitter account. Health workers and the Red Cross have rescued these people, including "a baby born during the transfer to the wharf," they said. The newborn baby, along with his mother and another woman, were hospitalized. Fuerteventura, the second largest island in the Canaries, is located a hundred kilometers off the coast of Morocco.

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From the beginning of the year until April 15, the number of migrants arriving in Spain by land or sea has decreased by almost 20% compared to the same period of 2019, dropping from 7,516 last year to 6,028 this year. On the other hand, arrivals of migrants by sea to the Canary Islands have increased almost tenfold: 1,781 since the start of the year, against 181 over the same period last year.

The number of boats leaving Africa and arriving in the Canaries tripled compared to the same period of 2019, going from 20 to 61. Spain declared a state of alert on March 14, closed its borders and strictly confined its population, due to the pandemic of new coronavirus, which has already killed nearly 24,000 people in the country.

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