Five migrants found dead on boat off Spain´s Canaries

BARCELONA: Five migrants were found dead on a crowded boat that was spotted adrift south of Spain´s Canary Islands in the Atlantic, the country´s maritime rescue service said on Thursday.

Rescuers were alerted on Wednesday afternoon to the vessel drifting some 800-kms south of the island of Tenerife, and a boat dispatched to the area rescued 68 people and found five bodies on board, the service said in a statement.

The boat also retrieved three bodies from the migrant vessel but had to leave it adrift with the other two bodies “due to bad weather conditions in the area,” the statement said.

Spain is one of the main gateways for migrants seeking a better life in Europe, with the vast majority making the perilous journey to try and reach the Canary Islands which lie off the northwestern coast of Africa.

The Atlantic route is particularly dangerous due to strong currents, with migrants travelling in overloaded, often unseaworthy, boats without enough drinking water. But it has grown in popularity due to increased vigilance in the Mediterranean.