At least 83 migrants are feared dead after a boat that left The Gambia for Spain was found drifting off the Canary Islands, nearly a month after it began its journey.
The vessel, which was carrying migrants from West Africa, was located late Wednesday about 65 nautical miles southwest of Arguineguín, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria, according to Spain’s Maritime Safety and Rescue Society (SASEMAR).
Forty-four people were rescued from the makeshift boat, while three survivors were in critical condition and had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital.
SASEMAR said difficult weather conditions prevented rescuers from recovering the bodies of five people who had died on board.
Helena Maleno, head of Spanish migrant rights organisation Caminando Fronteras, said 83 of the 127 people believed to have been on the boat had died. She said four women and a baby were among those who lost their lives.
The migrants had reportedly spent 27 days at sea after departing from The Gambia.
Although SASEMAR could not establish the exact number of passengers who initially boarded the vessel, survivors told aid workers that more than 100 people had been on board.
The Red Cross in the Canary Islands said the survivors were from Mali and Senegal, with some believed to be minors. Many arrived in a severely weakened condition.
José Antonio Rodríguez Verona, a Red Cross spokesperson, said the survivors were dehydrated and disoriented, with several collapsing or vomiting after reaching land.
He said they had described being stranded at sea for “many, many days”, with some believing they had spent almost a month on the Atlantic.
The migrants had reportedly exhausted their food and water supplies and became sick after being forced to drink seawater.
According to Rodríguez Verona, survivors said people who died during the journey had been thrown into the ocean, continuing until those still alive were too weak to do so.
The Canary Islands migration route is considered the most dangerous part of the Africa-Europe migration corridor.
Caminando Fronteras said 1,317 people died while attempting to reach Spain through migration routes during the first five months of this year, including 142 women and 129 children.
Nearly half of those deaths occurred along the Atlantic route leading to the Canary Islands.
Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo condemned the latest tragedy, saying it was “unbearable that lives continue to be lost” and that authorities should not “normalize the face that the Atlantic continues to be a route of death.”
Clavijo said the incident showed the urgent need for a stronger national migration strategy.
“We cannot continue managing migration from crisis to crisis. We are talking about lives and dignity,” he said.
The latest deaths come as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces renewed pressure over his government’s handling of migration.
Spain has also been dealing with the aftermath of a major border incident in July, when an estimated 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta over two days, triggering protests across the country and a diplomatic dispute with Italy.
