Migrant boat adrift 27 days rescued off Canary Islands: five confirmed dead, NGO says toll far higher

A boat carrying West African migrants, adrift in the Atlantic for 27 days after departing The Gambia, was rescued off the Canary Islands on 2 September 2026. Spain's Salvamento Marítimo confirmed five dead and 44 survivors. NGO Caminando Fronteras reported 83 dead from 127 originally aboard — a toll authorities said they could not confirm.