Spanish authorities say 4 dead, 19 rescued from migrant ship from West Africa

Crews from Spain’s maritime rescue service recovered four bodies and saved 19 people from a migrant ship from West Africa on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

Spanish authorities said the boat was attempting the perilous trip from West Africa to the Canary Islands. The rescue crews responded to an alarm call that the migrants were located on a flimsy craft that was unfit for the high seas, the AP reported. 

Rescue helicopters took the group to the island of Tenerife. Out of the 19 people rescued, six were in poor health and suffering from dehydration, according to the AP.

The route across the Atlantic from West Africa to the Canary Islands has become increasingly popular among migrants trying to flee their countries over conflict, violence and economic plight caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

More than 2,400 people reached the Canary Islands in the first three months of 2021. 

According to the U.N. migration agency’s Missing Migrants Project, 23,000 people have arrived on the island by boat while 850 people have died or gone missing in 2020.