Madrid, 6 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - At least 262 migrants in three boats were discovered off the coast of the Spanish Canary Island of El Hierro on Friday, according to emergency services.

Rescue workers safely brought 103 to shore.

Operations to rescue the remaining migrants were ongoing, the state television station RTVE reported, citing the authorities.

The island with 11,000 inhabitants cannot cope with so many migrants, according to the government there, while some media have already labelled the island "the Spanish Lampedusa" after the Italian isle which has seen huge numbers of migrants.

The situation is "untenable," the Canary Islands Prime Minister Fernando Clavijo said on TV station Antena 3.

"We are stunned and perplexed by the silence of the Spanish government, which seems to be completely indifferent to the events related to migration and the pressures that all of the Canaries are facing," he continued.

Why so many migrants are arriving near El Hierro is still unknown. The Canaries are in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa, but El Hierro is one of the furthest from the continent.

In the meantime, many migrants are being taken to larger Canary Islands such as Tenerife.

Nevertheless, the island government demanded "exceptional and urgent" measures from Spain and the European Union.

"The Herreños are a helpful and empathetic people who know first-hand what migration means. But they are not prepared in terms of space, population or resources to cope with such a large number of migrants," a statement said.

According to the Spanish aid organization Caminando Fronteras, at least 951 migrants died in the first six months of the year trying to reach Spain by sea.

Photo: MIA archive