Yahoo TV

Spain's coast guard rescued 54 migrants off the Canary Islands on Monday (July 26) night and transported them to a port in Gran Canaria.

Three of them were transferred to different hospitals for medical attention, with one in a critical condition, emergency services said.

The canoe-shaped open vessel was located less than two miles away from Maspalomas beach in Gran Canaria, local media reported.

Spanish coast guard provided masks to those rescued before helping them disembark.

Authorities on the Canary Islands are struggling to accommodate a sharp rise in the number of undocumented migrants arriving on these shores.

Between January and mid-July, 7,260 people landed on the islands in the Atlantic after making the perilous journey, compared to 2,800 in the same period last year. That's according to the Spanish Interior Ministry.

Authorities attribute this increase to the impact of COVID-19 on tourism and other industries in north and sub-Saharan Africa, pushing many to leave home in search of a better life in Europe.