More than 80 migrants, including a baby, are feared to have died during a 26-day journey from Gambia to the Canary Islands after their boat was found drifting south of Gran Canaria.
Salvamento Marítimo said 45 people were rescued from the vessel early on Thursday, while five bodies were discovered on board. The sea was too rough for rescuers to recover the remains.
The boat was spotted by a search aircraft on Wednesday afternoon, about 120 kilometres south of Gran Canaria. The rescue vessel Guardamar Urania reached it around midnight and brought the survivors to the port of Arguineguín.
Three of those rescued were later taken by helicopter to hospitals on Gran Canaria for urgent treatment. The other survivors were given assistance by the Red Cross after arriving at the port.
The vessel is believed to have left Gambia on August 7 with 128 people aboard, including four women and a baby. The Guardia Civil told the Spanish charity Caminando Fronteras that markings on the hull appeared to match those of the boat reported to have made that departure.
Survivors told the Red Cross they had begun the voyage with more than 100 people and that many died during the crossing. The precise circumstances of the deaths, and what happened to those no longer on the boat, have not been established.
