What changes for visitors and residents in the south of El Hierro?

Nothing official changes for residents and visitors for now. Neither the BOC (the Canary Islands official gazette), the Cabildo (island government) nor any town hall has published a closure, rule or deadline for the arrivals of 4 November.

The boats docked at La Restinga, the port in the south of the island. Officials usually cordon off the harbour area when boats arrive, but that is not confirmed for 4 November.

If you have an appointment at the harbour in La Restinga, ask your provider first. The authorities have given visitors no practical advice so far.

What happened in the night to Wednesday?

The first boat, with 111 people, came into La Restinga on Tuesday at 23:29. Salvamento Marítimo (the state sea rescue service) had spotted it about 7.4 kilometres south of El Hierro.

A second boat with 125 people followed at 01:45 on Wednesday. Rescuers had found it roughly 18.5 kilometres south of La Restinga.

The operation was not over. At 08:40 on Wednesday, Salvamento Marítimo said it was rescuing two more cayucos, about 22.2 and 25.9 kilometres south of La Restinga.

Nobody knows how many people are aboard these two boats. The authorities have also not yet given their country of origin, the number of minors or their condition.

How many boats have reached El Hierro recently?

The Interior Ministry has not yet published its full monthly figures. Its last complete count covers the period to September.

On 22 October alone, 451 people arrived in four boats, and on 23 October 566 people came in four boats again. Between 23 and 25 October, the authorities moved around 900 people to other islands.

Numbers shot up in October. From 1 to 15 October the authorities counted 1,837 arrivals in the Canary Islands, against 643 in the same period of 2025, an increase of 185%.

Over the whole year the picture looks different. From 1 January to 15 October 2026, 8,970 people arrived, against 13,491 a year earlier, a fall of 33.5%.

Boats on El Hierro carry twice as many people as elsewhere. From January to September, 3,515 people landed there in 31 boats, about 113 per boat on average. Lanzarote received 2,133 people in 41 boats, about 52 per boat.

In total, the Interior Ministry counted 7,179 arrivals in the Canary Islands from January to September.

Who is responsible for what on El Hierro?

Salvamento Marítimo, a state agency, handles sea rescue. When boats dock, reports say the Canary emergency service SUC, the Red Cross, the Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional immigration units turn out.

The Cabildo says it has no powers over immigration. It calls for help from higher authorities, emergency shelters, fast transfers to larger islands and special procedures for unaccompanied minors.

The regional government, the Gobierno de Canarias, looks after those minors. The Cabildo also wants money from the state for the rubbish the arrivals leave at La Restinga, but no figures on costs or funding exist.

What is still open and what comes next?

It is unclear how the rescue of the two boats ends and how many people arrived in total during the night. Salvamento Marítimo had not given a final figure by Wednesday morning.

Where the new arrivals will be taken is also unclear. At the end of October, around 900 people moved from El Hierro to other islands within three days, but no dated plan exists for the current arrivals.

The Interior Ministry's October balance is also pending. The authorities have not named a date for it.