Five boats with a total of 59 migrants of North African origin were intercepted this Tuesday in Formentera, in one of the most intense days of the year on the island, according to the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands. In the whole of the archipelago there were nine boats and 143 people rescued between the early morning and late afternoon.
The first skiff linked to Formentera was detected at 12:25 p.m., when eleven people were rescued one mile south of the island. Maritime Rescue and the Provincial Maritime Service of the Civil Guard took part in this intervention, transferring the occupants to port for identification and basic health care.
Subsequently, at 14.30 hours, eleven migrants were intercepted on the coastline, in the area of Estufadors, south of Formentera. This operation involved agents of the Guardia Civil of the Formentera Post together with the Provincial Maritime Service.
At the same time, at 14.30 hours, there was another rescue of five people of North African origin four miles southeast of Formentera, again with the intervention of the Provincial Maritime Service of the Civil Guard and Maritime Rescue.
Shortly after, at 14.55 hours, sixteen migrants were rescued three miles southeast of the island, in a new joint operation of Maritime Service and Maritime Rescue.
The last warning in Formentera came at 17.00 hours, when sixteen people were intercepted in the area of Sa Mola. The Guardia Civil of the Formentera Post and the Formentera Local Police participated in this action, according to the same source.
In total, the five boats located in Formentera total 59 people, all of North African origin, spread between boats located at sea and groups intercepted already on land.
The last time Formentera received five boats with irregular immigration on the same day was on Sunday, September 28: 77 immigrants arrived that day.
Nine pateras and 143 migrants in Balearic Islands
The actions in Formentera are part of a day with nine boats and 143 migrants in the Balearic Islands, according to the balance of the Government Delegation.
In the central part of the archipelago, at 01.10 hours thirteen people of North African origin were rescued seven miles south of Cabrera, and at 07.40 hours 31 sub-Saharan migrants were intercepted off the coast of Sa Rapita (Mallorca). Later, at 11.35 a.m., fourteen Maghrebi people were rescued half a mile south of Cabrera, and at 2.13 p.m. another skiff with 26 sub-Saharan people was located thirteen miles south of the same island.
Irregular immigration on the rise in Balares
With these new arrivals, the Balearic Islands consolidates a year of rising figures on the maritime route. Up to the end of November, the Interior Department has put the number of migrants arriving in the archipelago in 376 small boats at 7,019, above the 5,882 registered in 2024, according to the latest balance sheet released by the Government Delegation and reported by several state media. The same report places the islands in a context in which irregular entries fall by about 30% in Spain as a whole, while in the Balearic Islands they increase by about 28% over the previous year.
Authorities point to the persistence of routes from North Africa as the origin of many of these boats. The new arrivals occur, moreover, in a context in which the system of guardianship of minors of Ibiza and Formentera drags a strong saturation.
