Just over half of them arrived on the small Canary island of El Hierro. It means that 1,700 have come to the island, with just over 11,000 inhabitants, this week alone, reports El País.
All the doctors and nurses on the island have been forced to leave their normal work duties to help the people on board the boats, said Juan Miguel Padrón, mayor of the island’s capital El Pinar, for RTVE.
In recent days, the number of migrants heading to the Canary Islands has increased sharply as smugglers take advantage of the calm weather.