17 migrants feared dead at sea trying to reach Spain's Balearic Islands

Seventeen migrants are feared dead after two survivors rescued off Spain's Balearic island of Mallorca told authorities the rest of their boat's passengers died on the journey to Spain, Spanish news agency EFE reported Tuesday.

Spain's Maritime Rescue Service and the Civil Guard rescued the two North African survivors about 12.7 nautical miles southwest of Mallorca. They were suffering from dehydration and malnutrition and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The survivors said the boat had originally carried 19 people but that the other 17 died after the vessel spent around 15 days adrift at sea.

Maritime Rescue deployed a helicopter to search the area and issued a navigational alert to nearby vessels.

In a separate operation, rescue teams intercepted another boat carrying 15 North African migrants about 30 nautical miles southwest of Ibiza.

Four migrant boats carrying 88 people reached Spain's Balearic Islands on Monday.

Balearic regional President Marga Prohens lamented the deaths and urged Spain's central government to provide greater support.

"We cannot normalize this tragedy. The Spanish government cannot keep looking the other way," she said, calling for a specific plan to address what she described as the islands' migration emergency.

The Interior Ministry’s and government figures compiled by EFE said 211 migrant boats carrying 3,935 people have reached the Balearic Islands in 2026.

The increase in migration to the Balearic Islands comes as Spain faces mounting migration pressure in its African enclave of Ceuta. Approximately 72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from neighboring Morocco last week in an unprecedented mass crossing.

Spanish authorities said Tuesday that about 70,000 have since left Ceuta, while the official death toll from that crisis has risen to 75. The government has blamed human trafficking networks for the crisis.