Migrant death toll increases on Atlantic route to Europe

Spanish authorities say as many as 27 people are feared dead after another boat traveling from North Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands became a trap for migrants trying to reach European territory

MADRID -- As many as 27 people are feared dead after another boat crossing the Atlantic Ocean to get from North Africa to Spain's Canary Islands became a trap for migrants trying to reach European territory, Spanish authorities and activists reported Tuesday. The Spanish government’s delegation in the Canary Islands said rescuers retrieved 32 survivors and one body overnight from a rubber boat in waters south of Fuerteventura, the closest of the archipelago's islands to the African coast. Survivors told authorities that some 60 people were on board when the boat set off four days ago from a beach near the southern Moroccan town of Tan-Tan. Walking Borders, a non-profit group that works with migrants in peril and provides assistance to their relatives, said that its research indicated the boat had carried only 42 people when it departed Morocco, leaving up to 10 victims.