MADRID, May 28, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Four women and two girls died after their migrant boat capsized shortly before reaching safety in Spain's Canary Islands on Wednesday, emergency services said, the latest tragedy on the perilous route.

Emergency services in the Atlantic archipelago said rescuers supported by a helicopter were working to save people in the port of La Restinga on the island of El Hierro.

 Spanish media reported at least 150 migrants were on board the boat.

Public broadcaster RTVE aired footage of rescuers throwing lifebuoys to people clinging onto an overturned boat and treading water off El Hierro.

     Emergency services initially confirmed "the death of two women after the capsizing of a vessel" in La Restinga, and later said "health services confirm another two dead women".

     The services then reported the death of two girls aged five and 16, which meant "the total number of dead has reached six people", they said on X.

     A three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl were being treated after they almost drowned and would be transported by helicopter to a hospital in Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, they added.

     Four other minors with breathing difficulties were being taken to hospital on El Hierro, the emergency services said.

     Spain takes in each year tens of thousands of Europe-bound migrants who arrive in the Canary Islands from West Africa, with Mali, Senegal and Morocco the most common nationalities.

     Strong ocean currents and ramshackle vessels make the long crossing dangerous.

     According to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, at least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea from January 1 to December 5, 2024.

     Almost 47,000 irregular arrivals reached the archipelago in 2024, breaking the annual record for the second year running, as tighter controls in the Mediterranean pushed migrants to attempt the Atlantic route.

     But numbers are down so far this year, dropping 34.4 percent between January 1 and May 15 compared with the same period in 2024, according to the latest interior ministry figures.