Dozens of irregular asylum seekers are feared to have died after a boat was found adrift south of Spain's Canary Islands following 26 days at sea, Spanish authorities have said.
The vessel reportedly departed Gambia on August 7 with 128 people aboard, according to Spanish broadcaster RTVE.
Spanish Maritime Rescue Services said on Thursday that 44 people were rescued.
More than 80 people are feared to have died during the journey, including a baby. Authorities based the estimated death toll on the number believed to have initially been aboard and accounts from survivors.
Spanish Maritime Rescue Services said one of its aircraft detected a "precarious boat adrift" at around 6.40 pm local time (1640GMT) on Wednesday, about 65 nautical miles southwest of the island of Gran Canaria.
A dangerous migration route
The rescue vessel Guardamar Urania reached the boat before midnight and rescued 44 men of sub-Saharan African origin. Five bodies were also found aboard the vessel.
Rescuers were unable to recover the bodies due to difficult weather conditions, including winds of around 20 knots and waves reaching 2.5 metres (8.2 feet).
The Spanish Civil Guard evacuated three survivors by helicopter after they were found in critical condition.
The remaining 41 survivors were taken to the port of Arguineguin, where they arrived in the early hours of Thursday.
Three of them were subsequently transported by ambulance to hospitals, bringing the total number of hospitalised survivors to six, according to the Spanish Red Cross.
The incident is the latest deadly episode involving migrants attempting to reach the Canary Islands by sea from West Africa, one of the most dangerous migration routes toward Europe.
