Rescued migrants try to make themselves comfortable inside a tent in the port of Arguineguin, Gran Canaria island, Spain, Saturday Jan. 16, 2021. A Spanish rescue ship rescued a boat 160 kilometres south of Gran Canaria with men, women and children on board in very poor condition. (AP Photo/Javier Bauluz)
AP
GRAN CANARIA, Spain
Spanish rescuers reached a boat carrying over 30 migrants and brought them safely to the Canary Islands, but not in time to save one child who reportedly died at sea.
Rescuers said the small boat was discovered late Friday some 160 kilometers (99 miles) south of Gran Canaria island. On board there were 11 men, 20 women and three children travelling in very poor conditions.
The survivors said a 9-year-old boy had died during the journey and they had tossed his body overboard.
Some 23,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands in 2020, up from some 3,000 in 2019, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry. More than 500 died in the attempt.
The people taking the boats are understood to be fleeing poverty, violence or other circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic, in African countries and elsewhere.