Formentera saw the arrival of 96 migrants in seven boats over approximately 21 hours between Tuesday, September 22, and the early hours of Wednesday, September 23.

All 96 people were reported as being of Maghrebi origin. One person was taken to hospital after arriving in the last boat, with authorities saying the individual was suffering from an illness in an advanced state.

The latest arrivals came as nine boats carrying 135 people were detected across the Balearic Islands during the same period.

Two days of arrivals in Formentera

The first arrivals were recorded on Tuesday morning, when two boats brought a total of 29 people to Formentera.

At 6:17am, Guardia Civil officers intercepted 16 people in the area of La Mola after they had arrived by boat.

At 8:45am, a further 13 people were intercepted on the PM-820 road, bringing the morning total to 29.

Three more boats arrived on Tuesday evening

The flow continued later in the day.

At 7:30pm, 11 people were intercepted at Es Copinar.

Just over an hour later, at 8:35pm, another 20 people were located in the area of s'Estufador.

At 11:50pm, a further 11 people were intercepted on the PM-820 near Playa de Migjorn.

By the end of Tuesday, five boats had brought 71 people to Formentera.

Two more boats during the early hours

The arrivals continued after midnight.

At 12:11am on Wednesday, Guardia Civil officers intercepted 16 people on the PM-820 in the area of Sant Ferran de ses Roques.

At 3:10am, another boat was intercepted in s'Estufador carrying nine people.

That final group brought the total number detected in Formentera since Tuesday morning to 96 people across seven boats.

One person taken to hospital

One of the nine people on the final boat required hospital treatment.

The Delegación del Gobierno said the person was suffering from an illness in an advanced state.

No details have been released about the illness, and authorities have not publicly stated the person's current condition.

Guardia Civil led the Formentera operations

The interventions on the island were carried out by the Guardia Civil's Formentera post.

The Guardia Civil's Unidad de Seguridad Ciudadana de la Comandancia, known as USECIC, also participated in the operations, except for the first intervention at La Mola.

The people located on land were intercepted after the boats had reached the island.

Cabrera also saw two rescues

The Formentera arrivals formed part of a wider sequence of maritime incidents around the Balearics.

At 7:33pm on Tuesday, Salvamento Marítimo rescued 12 people of Maghrebi origin from a boat approximately six nautical miles south of Cabrera.

At 4:55am on Wednesday, another 27 people of sub-Saharan origin were rescued approximately 12 miles southeast of Cabrera.

That brought the wider Balearic total during the period to 135 people in nine boats.

83 arrivals were recorded on Tuesday

Across the Balearic Islands, Tuesday ended with six boats and 83 people detected.

Formentera accounted for 71 of those people in five boats, while another 12 were rescued south of Cabrera.

Three further boats involving 52 people were recorded during the early hours of Wednesday, two in Formentera and one south of Cabrera.

326 boats recorded in the Balearics this year

With these latest arrivals included, figures compiled from information provided by the Ministry of the Interior and the Delegación del Gobierno put the 2026 Balearic total at 326 boats carrying 5,983 migrants.

For comparison, 401 boats carrying 7,321 people reached the islands during the whole of 2025.

The 2026 figures are cumulative and cover the period up to the latest arrivals reported on September 23.

Formentera continues to record frequent arrivals

The latest episode comes after several other groups of boats reached Formentera during September.

The island has repeatedly been among the main landing points for boats arriving in the Balearics from North Africa, with people often intercepted after reaching the coastline or nearby roads.

The latest sequence was notable for the number of separate arrivals concentrated into a little more than a single day.

A total of 96 people on the island

From the first interception at La Mola at 6:17am on Tuesday to the final intervention at s'Estufador at 3:10am on Wednesday, authorities recorded 96 people in Formentera.

The seven boats were distributed across the day and overnight period as follows:

Tuesday morning: 29 people in two boats.

Tuesday evening and night: 42 people in three boats.

Wednesday early morning: 25 people in two boats.

The combined figure is 96 people in seven boats.

Authorities continue monitoring arrivals

Guardia Civil and Salvamento Marítimo remain responsible for the interception and rescue operations associated with these arrivals, while emergency and humanitarian services provide assistance after people reach the islands.

The latest sequence also shows that arrivals can occur both directly along Formentera's coastline and after boats are detected or intercepted at sea.