7 dead, 5 thrown into the sea near Lanzarote as migrants are rescued

Deaths and rescue off Lanzarote

Maritime rescue services confirmed that at least seven people died off Spain’s Canary Islands and more than 380 people were rescued. Five other migrants had died during the same journey and had been thrown into the sea.

Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo wrote on X that the worst forecasts were coming true. He said the Atlantic route was again claiming lives off Lanzarote, with each death affecting a person and family.

A dangerous Atlantic crossing

Arrivals often rise in autumn as sea conditions improve. The article says crossings jumped sharply in October, despite arrivals so far this year being lower than during the same period in 2025.

Pressure on island services

Migrant arrivals in the archipelago fell 18 per cent year on year to 11,527, according to the office of the Spanish government’s representative in the Canary Islands. Experts warn that additional pressure is falling on emergency services, especially on the smaller and less populated islands.

Separate returns to Morocco

On 27 October, Spain faced heavy backlash after announcing that it had returned more than a dozen migrants who reached Ceuta to Morocco, following rejection of their asylum claims. Official numbers and nationalities were not confirmed. Migrant and rights charities operating in Ceuta said 16 people from Senegal, Nigeria, Yemen, Cameroon and Bangladesh were deported. Several NGOs criticized the returns, arguing that Morocco does not respect human rights and that the decision failed to consider how it treats migrants from other countries.