Dozens missing, 5 dead after migrant boat is found drifting near Spain’s Canary Islands

BARCELONA, Spain — At least five people died and dozens more were feared dead after a boat carrying West African migrants ran into trouble in the Atlantic Ocean.

BARCELONA, Spain — At least five people died and dozens more were feared dead after a boat carrying West African migrants ran into trouble in the Atlantic Ocean. Forty-four people were brought to safety in the Canary Islands.

Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said Thursday that one of its planes had spotted a “precarious” boat drifting some 74 miles south of the island of Gran Canaria on Wednesday afternoon.

Three survivors were immediately evacuated by helicopter to a hospital on the island. The remaining 41 migrants were brought to safety by boat and disembarked early Thursday in the port of Arguineguín, where they were cared for by the Red Cross. All survivors were men, some underage, and came from Mali or Senegal, said José Antonio Rodríguez Verona, a spokesperson for the Red Cross in the Canaries.

In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Rodríguez Verona said survivors were disoriented and dehydrated, with many collapsing or vomiting upon reaching land. While it was difficult to get precise information given their fragile state of health, migrants reported leaving Gambia and being stranded at sea for “many, many days.” Some estimated they had been at sea for nearly a month. Running out of provisions, they fell ill from drinking seawater.

Survivors also told the Red Cross that more than 100 people were originally on board, including women and a baby. As people died on the journey, their bodies were tossed in the ocean until they had no more strength to do so.