At the beginning of the week, new rescue operations took place in the waters of the Balearic Islands. A total of 24 people were found on three small boats off the coast of Formentera and in the area of Colònia de Sant Jordi in southern Mallorca.
During the night on Monday, maritime service staff and civil guard units carried out the first operation. About one nautical mile south of Formentera, a small vessel was found carrying six people from the Maghreb region. Everyone on board was safely brought ashore.
Later, at around 7 a.m., another group of 13 people, also believed to be from the Maghreb, was found on a boat five miles off Formentera. The evacuation went smoothly, and all were handed over to the relevant authorities.
A third boat reached the coast near Colònia de Sant Jordi, where five more people were apprehended on Cala Galiota beach. This operation involved local police and civil guard units from Santanyí.
Including these cases, since the start of the year 268 similar boats have arrived on the shores of the Balearic Islands, carrying nearly five thousand migrants. According to the authorities, a total of 5,882 people arrived by sea to the archipelago over the whole of last year.
The increase in such incidents is raising concerns among local authorities and security services. Officials continue to monitor the situation and are stepping up measures to control the region’s maritime borders.
