Jessica Acosta said medical teams from El Hierro Hospital had to attend arrivals at La Restinga because state services, she said, lacked the resources to provide care there. She also reported that a second cayuco was heading for La Estaca. El Hierro’s Cabildo declared a social emergency on 6 November after more than 8,000 people reportedly arrived by boat over about five weeks. The arrivals put pressure on public services, including transport and healthcare, as well as accommodation and social support.
Speaking on Hoy por Hoy, Acosta said the two boats were expected at the island’s ports in less than an hour. At the hospital, all 31 beds were occupied, so staff converted the assembly hall into an additional ward with ten beds. On 7 November, Salvamento Marítimo brought a cayuco carrying 205 people to La Restinga. The Guardamar Urania and the Guardia Civil patrol boat Río Guadiato escorted two more cayucos toward La Estaca. On 8 November, more than 600 people reportedly arrived on El Hierro aboard four cayucos. The final landing at La Estaca involved 258 people, one of whom was transferred to a health facility.
Acosta said the situation was putting the island’s health service under strain. Teams had to cover both ports, and staff were working extra hours. The hospital workforce, she said, was sized for the island’s 12,000 residents. The account also says El Hierro received 6,000 migrants in November. Separate reports put November arrivals on the island at more than 3,300 by 8 November, while Spain’s Ministry of the Interior recorded 13,327 irregular migrant arrivals by sea across the Canary Islands from 1 January to 31 October 2026, down 5.5% on the same period in 2025. The regional total included 6,194 arrivals during October alone, carried by 65 boats.
Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had committed to reinforcing El Hierro’s health services through the Secretary of State for Migration. The pressure extended beyond medical care: approximately 26 cayucos had accumulated at La Estaca after a gantry crane broke down. Authorities arranged for the boats to be moved by truck to La Frontera’s waste facility, where they would be dismantled and treated at authorized centers outside the island.
