Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service has saved 84 migrants and found one man dead in a vessel close to the Spanish island of Gran Canaria
ByCIARÁN GILES Associated Press
MADRID — Rescuers saved 84 migrants and found one man dead on board a boat close to the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said Tuesday.
A spokesman for the service said the survivors included 83 men and one woman, all from sub-Saharan African countries. Several needed medical treatment on arrival at Gran Canaria, located off the northwest coast of Africa. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be named in the media.
The boat was detected before dawn by a Spanish Civil Guard radar.
Nearly 1,000 migrants have died while trying to reach Spain by sea in the first six months of 2023, according to the Spanish migrant rights group Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders).
In recent years, most of the boats heading to Spain have come from Senegal or Morocco.
