rki.news | Source: Xinhua
MADRID, Sept. 3 — More than 80 migrants are feared dead after a boat carrying 128 people from The Gambia was found drifting south of Spain’s Canary Islands after nearly four weeks at sea, Spanish news agency EFE reported Thursday.
A Spanish Maritime Rescue aircraft spotted the boat Wednesday afternoon about 120 kilometers south of Gran Canaria. Rescue vessel Guardamar Urania reached it around midnight, finding 45 survivors and five bodies aboard.
The survivors were taken to Arguineguin port on Gran Canaria. Rough seas prevented rescuers from recovering the five bodies, which remained on the migrant boat.
Spain’s Civil Guard confirmed to NGO Caminando Fronteras that markings on the vessel matched those of a boat that left The Gambia on Aug. 7 with 128 people, including four women and a baby.
Caminando Fronteras reported in June that 1,317 migrants died while attempting to reach Spain during the first five months of 2026. It said 635 died on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands, the deadliest route to Spain during that period
More Than 80 Migrants Feared Dead Near Canary Islands
