Spanish rescuers saved 44 men from a migrant boat found adrift 65 nautical miles southwest of Gran Canaria on 2 September, according to Salvamento Marítimo.
A Sasemar 101 surveillance aircraft located the 15-metre wooden cayuco at 18:40 Canary Islands time. The Las Palmas Maritime Captaincy coordinated the operation and sent rescue vessel Guardamar Urania to the scene.
Five male bodies were found aboard. Rough seas prevented their recovery as rescuers prioritised bringing the survivors ashore. Winds exceeded 20 knots and waves reached about 2.5 metres.
Three survivors were evacuated by helicopter during the return to Gran Canaria. The others were taken to Arguineguín early on 3 September.
Six people were admitted to hospital with dehydration and disorientation, including symptoms linked to drinking seawater, while two also had traumatic injuries.
The 44 survivors were all men of sub-Saharan African origin. Migrant-rights organisation Caminando Fronteras put the death toll from the crossing at 83, including three women and a baby. Its founder Helena Maleno said the cayuco had left Gambia 27 days before it was found.
The organisation linked the vessel to a cayuco that departed Gambia on 7 August with 127 people, including four women and a baby. Another figure in the available information puts the original number aboard at 128, and Spanish authorities have not established a final passenger count confirming either figure.
Salvamento Marítimo has officially confirmed five bodies aboard the vessel, while the estimate of 83 deaths comes from Caminando Fronteras based on its identification of the cayuco, information about those who left Gambia and survivor accounts.
Irregular maritime arrivals in the Canary Islands fell to 5,163 between 1 January and 31 August 2026 from 12,126 in the same period of 2025, a decline of 57.4%. The number of boats arriving fell to 70 from 198.
Salvamento Marítimo is operated by Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Marítima, or SASEMAR, a Spanish public business entity under the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility through the Directorate-General of the Merchant Marine. Its statutory functions include maritime search and rescue, medical evacuation, pollution response, navigational warnings and maritime traffic monitoring.