Seventeen people were rescued from a small boat approximately two nautical miles south of Ibiza late on Tuesday, 13 October, in a joint operation involving Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service and the Guardia Civil.

The rescue took place at around 23:40, according to information released by the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands. The operation brought the reported number of people arriving in the archipelago during Tuesday to 101.

Rescue Operation South of Ibiza

The boat was located at sea south of Ibiza shortly before midnight. Personnel from Salvamento Marítimo and officers from the Guardia Civil post in Sant Josep de sa Talaia took part in the operation.

The 17 people aboard were reported to be of North African origin. The available reports do not provide further confirmed details about their identities, ages or medical condition following the rescue.

Seven Boats Reported Across the Balearics on Tuesday

The incident was the seventh reported boat arrival in the Balearic Islands during Tuesday, according to the Government Delegation.

The 17 people rescued south of Ibiza were in addition to 84 people reported in earlier interventions involving boats or arrivals in different locations across the archipelago, including Ibiza, Formentera and Cabrera.

The combined figure of 101 refers to the Balearic Islands as a whole. It should not be interpreted as the number of people who arrived in Ibiza alone.

More Than 6,600 Arrivals Reported in the Balearics in 2026

Figures cited from Spain’s Ministry of the Interior and the Government Delegation put the number of people arriving in the Balearic Islands so far in 2026 at 6,642, carried in 365 boats.

The same report gives a total of 7,321 people in 401 boats for 2025. These figures relate to the Balearic archipelago rather than Ibiza and Formentera individually.

The latest rescue adds to the continuing work of maritime and security services responding to small boats crossing the western Mediterranean. Such operations involve locating vessels at sea, assisting their occupants and coordinating with the relevant authorities once they reach the islands.