Migrant tragedy just 5.5 metres from shore in Spain's Canary Islands

They were just five and a half metres from reaching their dream. The tragic capsize on Wednesday this week of a small migrant boat alongside the quay while it was getting in place to let its passengers off has shaken the island of El Hierro in the Canaries.

Seven people had been confirmed dead by Thursday - all women, including a 16-year-old girl and two girls around five years old.

Emergency service workers, devastated by the scene, were still searching for a missing baby who vanished amid the chaos. Two children, aged 3 and 5, were rushed to hospital in serious condition having been close to drowning.Among those hospitalised were two three-month-old babies, a pregnant woman and three minors - all showing signs of inhaling water.

The vessel had set sail from West Africa following the familiar migratory route into Spain. Carrying around 150 people, it was first detected by coastal radar about 11 kilometres from the island. A rescue boat was dispatched and brought it into La Restinga port in El Hierro.

At first, it seemed like another successful rescue. But in a single instant, fear, desperation and the instinct to survive triggered a deadly stampede. Just metres from safety, the migrants panicked and surged toward the rescue boat, causing their overloaded, fragile vessel to tip and overturn.

Some clung to the remnants of the overturned vessel, others to the railing of the rescue boat, surrounded by screams and confusion. A five-year-old girl was trapped beneath the boat and later found by divers. Ten people were pulled from beneath the vessel alive, but some were recovered dead.

The island of El Hierro declared two days of official mourning. The head of the island's council, Alpidio Armas, expressed his sorrow over the tragic event, saying it "has deeply moved everyone", adding that "something has to change".