VALVERDE, Spain, Dec 7 – The tiny Canary Island of El Hierro, known for its tranquil surroundings and modest population of 11,400, is grappling with a grim reality: the rising tide of migrant deaths as people make perilous journeys from West Africa.
Forensic pathologist Modesto Martinez, 68, moved to El Hierro intending to retire, but his days are now consumed with addressing the aftermath of the island’s growing migration crisis. “I thought El Hierro would be quieter, with two or three deaths a year,” said Martinez, who relocated from Tenerife. Instead, he is called upon day and night to handle the rising number of deceased migrants.
Official figures reveal that 33 migrants have arrived dead or died shortly after reaching the island this year, compared to 11 in 2023 and just one in 2022. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that deaths and disappearances along the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands rose by 61% between January and October. Many of these fatalities stem from dehydration, hypothermia, or drinking seawater during the roughly six-day crossing in overcrowded, open-topped boats.
El Hierro has become a focal point of the Canary Islands’ migration crisis, with approximately 20,000 migrants arriving there this year, nearly half the 40,000 who reached the archipelago. The path to Europe has grown deadlier as boats now depart from farther down the West African coast, often packed with up to 300 people, according to Andrea Garcia Borja of the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.
The island’s facilities are ill-equipped for the rising number of fatalities. Until recently, El Hierro had only two cadaver refrigerators, each holding one body. Autopsies take place in a single room with no air conditioning, where midday temperatures can reach 20 degrees Celsius. Many deceased migrants are buried in the island’s cemetery, with graves marked by numbers or simple identifiers like “Immigrant.”
The challenges of identifying the dead are immense. Most migrants dispose of their identification before reaching shore to avoid deportation, and DNA comparisons with relatives in Africa are rare. Martinez says over 90% of cases remain unresolved due to difficulties in tracing families or obtaining secure DNA samples.
In one recent case, a migrant who survived identified a relative, 35-year-old Senegalese national Bathie Barry, who had died of hypothermia. Barry’s burial was attended by only six people, including two volunteer mourners who left flowers on his grave.
Spain’s Red Cross has stepped in to assist, using informal identification methods and helping families learn the fates of missing loved ones. However, gaps persist in Spain’s procedures for handling migrant deaths. A lack of centralized databases and coordinated search protocols further complicates efforts to address the crisis.
The island’s government has responded by adding cadaver refrigerators and expanding cemetery capacity, but the scope of the tragedy continues to outstrip resources. The IOM calls the Atlantic route to the Canaries the second-deadliest migration corridor in the world, with many migrants vanishing at sea before ever reaching land.
