Spain: 1 Dead, 26 Missing As Migrant Boat Capsizes

According to the Spanish authorities, a boat carrying migrants capsized off Spain’s Canary Islands, leaving one person dead and another 26 missing.

Spanish rescuers intercepted three boats heading to the islands, rescuing 116 people.

According to Reuters, the coast guard rescued 34 people after the dinghy capsized around 135 nautical miles off the southern tip of Gran Canaria on Monday.

Another two boats carrying about 63 migrants, including two children, were found floating in the sea around 40 nautical miles to the South.

Authorities were alerted on April 24 to a dinghy that had left Cabo Bojador in Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by Morocco, with 60 migrants aboard. Only 34 of them have been found, the Coast Guard said.

The troubled boat was spotted by a Spanish Coast Guard plane. Two merchant vessels and a helicopter assisted it until a Spanish rescue ship arrived.

In the past few years, migrants have been crossing the Atlantic Ocean to make it to the Canary Islands, imperilling one of the most dangerous routes to Europe.