Two migrants were found dead aboard an inflatable boat bound for Spain’s Canary Islands, while five others reportedly died during the crossing, Spanish maritime rescuers said on Monday, citing survivors.
Spain’s maritime rescue service Salvamento Maritimo said one of its vessels intercepted the boat carrying 132 people and the two bodies early on Monday.
Some passengers said five migrants had died during the crossing and their bodies were thrown overboard, a spokesman for the service said.
The boat, carrying 120 men and 12 women, was taken to the port of Arrecife on Lanzarote.
“The worst forecasts are coming true. The Atlantic route is claiming lives once again, this time off Lanzarote,” Canary Islands regional president Fernando Clavijo wrote on X, urging the central government to provide more resources to tackle the humanitarian crisis.
A second boat carrying 59 people was rescued early on Monday, while 107 sub-Saharan African migrants, including three minors, were brought safely to the island of El Hierro on Sunday night.
The Canary Islands are one of the main gateways into Europe for migrants fleeing poverty, conflict and persecution alongside Mediterranean routes to Italy and Greece.
The long journey from west Africa is extremely dangerous due to strong currents and the often ramshackle, overloaded vessels.
After peaking in 2024 at more than 46,000, arrivals to the Atlantic archipelago have fallen sharply as a result of tighter patrols and cooperation with countries of origin and transit.
A total of 8,970 migrants reached the islands by sea between January 1st and October 15th this year, down 33.5 percent on the same period in 2025, according to interior ministry figures.
