More than 80 migrants, including a baby, are feared to have died after a boat that departed. The Gambia was found adrift in the Atlantic Ocean off Spain's Canary Islands following a 27-day journey, according to Spain's Maritime Safety and Rescue Society (SASEMAR) and the Spanish migrant rights group Caminando Fronteras.

SASEMAR said it located the vessel roughly 65 nautical miles (120 kilometres) southwest of Arguineguín, a coastal town on Gran Canaria, late Wednesday. Rescuers recovered 44 survivors and five bodies from the boat, but adverse weather—with winds of 20 knots and waves up to 2.5 meters—made it impossible to retrieve the five bodies found on board.

Three survivors in critical condition were airlifted to hospital, while the rest were brought ashore at the port of Arguineguín in the early hours of Thursday. All the survivors were men from sub-Saharan Africa, SASEMAR said.

The boat is believed to have left The Gambia on August 7 carrying an estimated 127 people, according to Caminando Fronteras. Its founder, Helena Maleno, said in a statement that 83 people—including three women and a baby—had died during the crossing, citing information compiled from distress calls and testimony from relatives and survivors. Spanish authorities have not independently confirmed the number of people originally on board.

Survivors told the Red Cross they had run out of food and water early into the journey, with some falling ill after drinking seawater, according to DW and other outlets citing Red Cross officials in the Canaries.

The vessel was travelling along the West Africa Atlantic route, one of the world's deadliest migration corridors, linking countries including Mauritania, Senegal, and The Gambia to Spain's Canary Islands. Journeys from the southern end of the route can cover more than 1,600 kilometres of open ocean.

According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), around 586 people died or went missing on the Mediterranean and West Africa Atlantic routes between January and May 2026, even as more than 4,800 people reached the Canary Islands over the same period.

Sources: BBC/DW