Rescue workers search for bodies after a boat with 46 migrants from the Maghreb region capsized in the beach of Orzola, in the Canary Island of Lanzarote, Spain June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Nearly 32,000 migrants have reached Spain's Canary Islands on fragile boats from west Africa this year, passing a previous record posted in 2006, regional authorities said on Sunday. Fernando Clavijo, the Canary Islands regional chief, said the figures showed the scale of the humanitarian crisis faced by the islands and called for more help from the Spanish government and the European Union. Its seven islands have become the main destination for migrants from Senegal and other African countries trying to reach Spain, fleeing conflict or seeking a better life. The Spanish government said it would create additional emergency accommodation for some 3,000 migrants in military barracks, hotels and hostels.

---

Persons: Borja Suarez, Fernando Clavijo, Graham Keeley, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Canaries, Reuters, Spanish coastguard, Spanish Civil Guard, Canary, European Union, State, Thomson Locations: Maghreb, Orzola, Lanzarote, Spain, Rights MADRID, Africa, El Hierro, EU, Africa's, Senegal