Seventy-four people arriving on small boats were picked up around Ibiza and Formentera between Saturday afternoon and the early hours of Sunday. It came less than two weeks after a wave that brought nearly 200 people to the islands in just two days.
This weekend: 74 people in under 12 hours
The first boat was found at 4.05pm on Saturday, five miles south-east of Formentera, by the Guardia Civil and Salvamento Marítimo, Spain’s maritime rescue service. At 10.20pm, 13 people were rescued ten miles south-east of Ibiza.
Then, at 3.38am on Sunday, 43 people were intercepted on land in Formentera, at the junction of the main PMV-820 road and the road to Cala Saona. Guardia Civil officers from Formentera, Sant Josep and Santa Eulària took part, together with the island’s Local Police.
All were of North African origin, according to the Spanish Government Delegation in the Balearics. Six more people reached Mallorca the same weekend, bringing the total for the islands to 80.
Late October: nearly 200 in two days
On 26 and 27 October, the authorities carried out a dozen interventions around Ibiza and Formentera. Most were on land in Formentera: groups were intercepted on the Camí des Ram, on the PM-820, at La Mola, Caló des Mort and s’Estufador. Others were rescued at sea, among them 17 people found 1.5 miles south-east of Formentera. In Ibiza Town, 11 people were located in Carrer Ramon Muntaner.
Where their origin was recorded, the people came from North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and, in three cases, Asia. Across the Balearics, 264 people were rescued or intercepted in that wave, 67 of them off Mallorca and Cabrera.
What happens after they arrive
After each interception, the people receive medical and social care under the standard protocol, before being handed over to Spain’s National Police.
