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More than 80 migrants dead, including baby, after boat found adrift near Canary Islands following 26 days at sea
Rescuers found 45 survivors and five bodies after the boat drifted for 26 days, with more than 80 migrants feared dead, officials said.
At least 80 people, including a baby, were found dead on a vessel adrift for 26 days off Spain's Canary Islands, Spanish news agency EFE Noticias reported. Hull inscriptions indicated the boat originated from Gambia.
The vessel was destined for the Canary Islands with 128 people on board but became lost in the Atlantic. The route from Gambia measures around 1,242 miles to reach the European Union, making it one of the longest migrant crossings.
Only 45 people survived the ordeal and were rescued early this morning around 120km off Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Survivors said they had sailed with "more than one hundred people" before the vessel became adrift.
Survivors were taken to the port of Arguineguin for assistance. Maritime Rescue teams, who spotted the boat overnight, were forced to leave five bodies behind due to rough seas.
The crossing from Africa to the Canary Islands remains one of the deadliest migrant routes. By June this year, 1,300 people had died trying to reach the islands, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras.
At least five migrants died on a boat that would remain adrift for 27 days in the Atlantic, rescued at dawn from the Spanish Maritime Rescue at about 65 miles southeast of the island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands archipelago. (ANSA)