Tuesday, the vessel reached El Hierro, 380km (238 miles) off Africa’s western coast.

It was the largest group of migrants ever to arrive in the archipelago in one go, according to rescue workers.

Migration from Africa is one of the most common and dangerous routes to Europe via the Canary Islands.

“I’ve never seen a boat with so many people on board,” Txema Santana, a journalist and former migration adviser, said on social media.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 140 people have died or disappeared trying to make the crossing since the beginning of the year.

In recent years, tighter controls have been put in place to prevent people from crossing the Mediterranean from Africa’s northern coast.

Spain’s interior ministry reports that 14,976 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands between 1 January and 30 September this year, an increase of 19.8% over 2022.

In the last three days, Senegal’s navy intercepted four boats carrying more than 600 people.

On an African island nation that sits on the migration route to the Canaries, Cape Verde, at least 60 people died on a boat in August.