More than 80 migrants feared dead after boat drifts for 27 days

A boat carrying migrants drifted helplessly across the Atlantic for 27 days before Spanish coast guards found it near the island of Gran Canaria. More than 80 people, including a child, are feared to have died during the journey.

The boat was discovered about 65 nautical miles southwest of Arguineguín, on Gran Canaria’s southern coast. Forty-four people were still alive aboard the vessel, while five bodies were also found. The boat is believed to have left The Gambia in West Africa in early August with 127 people aboard, although the exact number at departure could not be confirmed.

Helena Maleno Garzón, founder of the Spanish humanitarian group Caminando Fronteras, said 83 people had died during the voyage. The survivors rescued by Spain’s Maritime Rescue service were all men from countries south of the Sahara. Three of them had to be flown to a hospital in Las Palmas because of their condition.

Thousands of people attempt the journey from Africa to Spain each year in search of better living conditions and a livelihood. The repeated deaths of people traveling in fragile boats continue to fuel debate in Spain, while the article says authorities have done little in response.

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83 people died during the voyage.