A “migrant taxi” boat carrying 26 people arrived at an idyllic beach packed with tourists in broad daylight.
The small boat, carrying 20 men and six women, reached Cala Santanyí in Mallorca, Spain, at around 1.55pm on Friday (4 September).
The beach was packed with sunseekers when lifeguards spotted the migrants and rushed to assist them.
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After reaching the shore, some jumped into the water, while others scrambled over the rocky promontory.
The lifeguards helped those who had fallen into the water and were struggling to swim to safety.
Shortly afterwards, two Guardia Civil patrols arrived at the scene to take charge of the situation, as reported by Need To Know.
All 26 migrants appeared to be in good condition, with no serious injuries reported.
The boat was one of four intercepted or rescued in Mallorca and Formentera within just a few hours, bringing the total number of migrants who arrived on Friday to 75.
Two of the boats were carrying migrants of North African origin, while the other two were carrying migrants of sub-Saharan origin.
In the previous 24 hours, around 100 migrants had arrived irregularly on Mallorca’s shores, according to the Mallorca Island Council.
And on Saturday (5 September), five small boats carrying a total of 72 migrants reached Mallorca, Cabrera and Formentera.
According to figures compiled from information provided by Spain’s Interior Ministry and the Balearic Islands Government Delegation, 274 small boats carrying 5,095 migrants have reached the archipelago so far this year.
The president of the Mallorca Island Council, Llorenç Galmés, warned in a statement: “Mallorca cannot continue dealing alone with a situation that far exceeds its capacity.”
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