Seventeen migrants are feared dead after two survivors rescued off the coast of Mallorca told Spanish authorities that their fellow passengers perished during a 15-day ordeal at sea.
Spain's Maritime Rescue Service and the Civil Guard located and rescued the two North African men approximately 12.7 nautical miles southwest of Mallorca. The survivors, who were suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition, were transferred to Son Espases University Hospital in Palma for immediate medical treatment.
According to testimony provided by the survivors, the vessel originally departed with 19 people on board. However, 17 of the passengers died after the boat became disabled and spent roughly two weeks drifting in the Mediterranean. In response to the account, Maritime Rescue deployed a helicopter to search the surrounding maritime area and issued navigational warnings to nearby vessels, though officials noted there are no other records of the missing passengers beyond the testimony of the two men.
The tragedy occurs amid a sharp increase in maritime arrivals across the archipelago. In a separate operation, rescue teams intercepted another small boat carrying 15 North African migrants about 30 nautical miles southwest of Ibiza. A day earlier, four separate migrant vessels carrying 88 people successfully reached the Balearic Islands.
Balearic regional President Marga Prohens expressed grief over the loss of life and renewed calls for the Spanish central government to intervene with targeted support. She emphasized that the situation cannot be normalized and urged the central administration to formulate a dedicated strategy to address the growing migration emergency facing the islands.
Official data compiled by news agency EFE shows that 211 migrant boats carrying 3,935 people have reached the Balearic Islands so far in 2026. The uptick in arrivals along the Balearic route coincides with severe migration pressures in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, where an estimated 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco last week before authorities initiated large-scale returns.
