More than 80 migrants feared dead after boat rescued off Canary Islands - BBC News

Rescuers found 44 survivors on board the vessel but bad weather meant they had to leave five bodies behind.

Image source, ReutersByJames GregoryPublished3 September 2026, 11:19 BSTUpdated 4 hours agoMore than 80 people, including a baby, are feared to have died in a boat which was adrift in the Atlantic Ocean for 27 days.

Spanish Maritime Rescue teams located the vessel some 65 nautical miles southwest of Gran Canaria's coastal town of Arguineguín on Wednesday and found 44 survivors, with five dead bodies also on board.

The boat is believed to have departed The Gambia in West Africa in early August with 127 occupants on board. Human rights activist Helena Maleno Garzón, founder of Spanish charity Caminando Fronteras, said 83 people had lost their lives.

Rescuers were forced to leave the five bodies they found due to the rough sea conditions, Maritime Rescue said.

The organisation was unable to verify how many people were originally on board.