Migrant boat capsizes off Canary Islands

This is the dramatic scene when migrants were pulled from the water after their boat capsized just off the Canary Islands on Tuesday (November 25).

The emergency services said 35 migrants - including women and children - had been on board.

At least four people were found dead, and some were still missing as the emergency services looked for a second boat on Wednesday.

Migrant arrivals on the Canary Islands have surged to 17,000 this year - ten times last year’s total.

North Africans are growing increasingly desperate after losing their income from tourism, a sector hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Spanish government recently promised to help build shelters for new arrivals, after island authorities appealed for help in housing the thousands of migrants now sleeping in the open.