Spain saves migrants off the coast of the Canary Islands.
A boat carrying migrants collided in the Atlantic Ocean off Spain’s Canary Islands on Tuesday, killing at least one person and leaving 24 others missing, according to the Spanish coastguard.
According to a coastguard spokesman, the boat left Cap Boujdour in Western Sahara with 61 passengers on board, but only 36 were found alive overnight.
Two children and eight women were among the survivors rescued and sent to safety off the coast of Gran Canaria, she said.
A coastguard spokeswoman said earlier on Tuesday that 34 people had been rescued and 26 were still missing.
The accident claimed the lives of 27 people, including 13 women and six newborns, according to Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish NGO that supports migrant boats in distress.
The Spanish archipelago off the coast of West Africa has become the main route for migrants seeking to enter Europe.
According to Spain, 6,359 people entered the Canaries illegally by sea between January 1 and April 15, a 60 percent increase over the same period in 2021.
