At least four people were found dead on a migrant boat off the Canary Islands on Sunday, the Spanish Red Cross said.
The bodies were recovered by the Spanish authorities from the ship along with 19 survivors.
The migrants had tried to travel the dangerous route from West Africa to the Canary Islands in a boat unsuitable for the high seas.
Rescue services responded to an alarm call from a fishing boat that located the boat just 120 miles south of the small island of El Hierro.
The helicopters airlifted those in serious condition and suffering from dehydration to the island of Tenerife.
In recent years, the crossing of the Atlantic from the west coast of Africa to the Canary Islands of Spain has become a major passage for undocumented migrants and refugees.
Record arrivals were recorded in 2020, more than eight times higher than in 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic flattened Africa’s tourism economy and forced many more to make a risky journey.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, hundreds have died or disappeared in their attempt to reach the archipelago in overcrowded and poorly equipped boats.
Since 2014, the Missing Migrants Project reports that more than 20,000 migrants have died trying to reach Europe from Africa.
From January 1 to March 31 this year, an estimated 3,400 immigrants arrived on the shores of the Canary Islands, according to Al Jazeera.
With Post threads