17 migrants die on drifting boat off Mallorca as 157 are rescued in the English Channel on the same day

Mallorca rescue and 17 reported deaths

A Spanish maritime patrol found a small boat adrift some 12.68 nautical miles, about 23 kilometres, southwest of Mallorca around 3 a.m. on 4 August. On board were only two men from the Maghreb, who were taken to Son Espases hospital in Palma with severe dehydration and malnutrition. The ferry Rosalind Franklin, sailing between Barcelona and Algeria, had spotted the drifting vessel during the night and raised the alarm.

The two survivors told Salvamento Marítimo that 19 people had left the North African coast and the boat lost power, drifting for two weeks. One by one, 17 people died. First reports attribute most of the deaths to dehydration and hypothermia, and the exact causes are under investigation. The pair said they were forced to throw the bodies of their companions into the sea. Spanish authorities launched a helicopter search and issued a maritime alert for possible additional victims or survivors. No independent verification of the survivor account was immediately available.

“A humanitarian drama that demands action from the central government.”

Balearic president Marga Prohens of the Partido Popular took aim at Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government on X, saying the islands are under growing strain. She noted that in less than 24 hours nearly 100 people had reached the archipelago.

Second rescue southwest of Ibiza

Around 5:15 a.m. the same day, another operation unfolded roughly 30 nautical miles southwest of Ibiza. Salvamento Marítimo and the Guardia Civil intercepted a second boat carrying 15 North African migrants who were also in distress. All were rescued, and no casualties were reported in that operation. The back-to-back rescues added to a year already marked by heavy traffic on the route: by mid-July, 172 boats carrying 3,244 migrants had reached the Balearics, a figure roughly 140 lower than in the same period of 2025, according to the Spanish government delegation.

EU interior ministers meet as Ceuta crisis deepens

The rescues unfolded while European Union interior ministers held an emergency video conference convened by the Irish rotating presidency. The meeting was called to address the migration crisis in Ceuta, where tens of thousands of people had swum or crossed into the Spanish enclave from Morocco in the preceding week. The Balearic and Channel tragedies added fresh urgency to the discussions, though the talks centred primarily on the situation on the North African coast.

Fiery rescue in the English Channel

Almost simultaneously, a group of 157 people was rescued in one of the largest operations in the English Channel since 2018. The small boat had left the French coast on the evening of 3 August heading for England. During the night the engine caught fire, and the passengers were forced into the water. The French maritime prefecture for the Channel and the North Sea said five people requested assistance earlier in the night, but the rest initially refused help from French patrol boats.

“Determined to reach the United Kingdom, the migrants crossing the Channel on small boats refused assistance offered by French emergency services, accepting it only in situations of extreme necessity.”

All 157 were taken to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. None were reported injured. French authorities noted a persistent pattern of crossings where those on board reject early rescue offers, compounding the risk to life on a route that remains one of the deadliest in Europe.