A commercial vessel was located by Spanish Maritime Rescue teams approximately 65 nautical miles southwest of Gran Canaria’s coastal town of Arguineguín on Wednesday. The boat had been adrift in the Atlantic Ocean for 27 days after departing The Gambia in West Africa in early August with 127 people aboard.
Rescuers recovered 44 survivors, all men from sub-Saharan Africa, along with five deceased individuals. A human rights activist associated with Spanish charity Caminando Fronteras indicated that 83 people had perished during the voyage. Maritime Rescue officials were unable to independently verify the exact number of people originally on board the vessel.
Due to severe weather conditions in the area, including winds of 20 knots and waves reaching 2.5 meters, recovery of the five bodies found on board proved impossible. Three of the survivors were airlifted to medical facilities in critical condition, while the remaining 41 were transported by sea to Gran Canaria and disembarked in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The incident has drawn attention to the dangers of the Atlantic crossing route from West Africa to the Canary Islands, which ranks among the world’s deadliest migration passages. Thousands of migrants undertake the journey annually despite documented risks from rough seas, strong currents, and extended distances. Canary Islands government officials have expressed concern about the continued loss of life on this route.
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