More than 80 migrants, including a baby, are feared to have died after spending 27 days adrift in the Atlantic Ocean aboard a boat that was eventually rescued off the Canary Islands.
Spanish Maritime Rescue teams found the vessel about 65 nautical miles southwest of Arguineguín, a coastal town on Gran Canaria, on Wednesday and rescued 44 survivors. Five bodies were also found on board, but rough seas prevented rescuers from recovering them.
The boat is believed to have left The Gambia in West Africa in early August carrying 127 people. Human rights activist Helena Maleno Garzón, founder of Spanish charity Caminando Fronteras, said 83 people had died during the journey.
The number of people who were originally on the boat could not be independently confirmed by Maritime Rescue.
The 44 survivors were all men from sub-Saharan Africa, according to Maritime Rescue. Three were airlifted to hospital in critical condition, while the remaining survivors were taken by sea to Gran Canaria, arriving in the early hours of Thursday.
Maritime Rescue said it had been unable to recover the five bodies because of dangerous conditions at sea.
"Once the rescue was complete, adverse weather conditions in the area - featuring 20-knot winds and 2.5m waves - made it impossible to recover the five bodies found on board," it said.
The vessel had spent nearly four weeks at sea before being located by rescuers, leaving dozens feared dead from the perilous crossing.
Fernando Clavijo, head of the Canary Islands government, said the continuing deaths of migrants in the Atlantic should not be accepted as normal.
"It is intolerable that lives continue to be lost. The Canaries cannot get used to or accept as normal the fact that the Atlantic continues to be a death trap."
The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands remains one of the world's most dangerous migration crossings.
Thousands of migrants attempt the journey each year in the hope of reaching Spanish territory, despite the dangers posed by rough seas, strong currents and the long distance involved.