A total of 241 people were rescued from three small boats near Lanzarote during an overnight maritime operation before being brought to Arrecife.

The latest group arrived at around 4:00am after the Guardamar Urania intercepted a vessel carrying 105 men of North African and sub-Saharan origin.

Earlier in the night, the Salvamar Acrux found another boat carrying 91 people. The group comprised 79 men, 10 women, and 2 children and reached Arrecife at approximately 1:00am.

The same rescue team also intercepted a third boat carrying 45 people. All those rescued were taken to the island’s capital, where emergency and humanitarian teams were waiting to assist them.

Local emergency services previously reported that three people required transfer to the Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital. No further details about their conditions have been released.

These are the first migrant boats reported near Lanzarote during August. The previous vessel was sighted near the coast of Teguise on 29th July.