At least eight people were killed when a migrant boat carrying about 30 people sank off the Spanish Canary Islands, according to an emergency services announcment on Twitter.

The boat sank Tuesday around 19:30 GMT off the village of Ursula, north of the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Archipelago.

Four victims were found Tuesday evening. The other four were found Wednesday morning.

Since the start of the year, more than 18,000 people have arrived in the Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about two-thirds of them in the past few months, after taking the perilous boat trips from the African coast.

According to the Canary Local Government, at least 500 people died during these dangerous crossing attempts.

The Spanish government announced last week that it plans to set up camps for about 7,000 people and launch a diplomatic campaign in various African countries in an attempt to stem the flow of immigrants to the islands of Spain.

This current wave is reminiscent of the 2006 crisis, when about 30,000 immigrants arrived in the Canary Islands, which prompted Spain to intensify patrols and sign immigrant return agreements.