More than 80 people may have died while attempting to reach Spain's Canary Islands from West Africa in a small wooden boat, according to Spanish rescuers and a migrant aid organization on Thursday.
Spain's state maritime rescue service said it found the boat about 140 kilometres south of Gran Canaria on Wednesday evening, with 44 survivors and five bodies on board.
The Spanish non-governmental organization Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders), which monitors migration routes, said the boat had departed from Gambia on August 7 with 127 people on board.
Some of the survivors gave the same account to Spanish police, according to state broadcaster RTVE.
Caminando Fronteras has a network of staff and informants in countries across North and West Africa. Through the network and direct contact with migrants' families, the organization often receives information about when and where boats depart for the Canary Islands and how many people are on board.
The group also receives distress calls from boats or relatives and alerts state maritime rescue services.
The journey across the open Atlantic in small wooden boats is considered one of the most dangerous migration routes to Europe.
More than 4,800 people have reached the Spanish Canary Islands from Africa since the beginning of the year, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
The number of people who have died from storms, hunger or thirst during the crossing is not known. UNHCR has recorded 586 people dead or missing on routes across the Atlantic and western Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.
Caminando Fronteras estimates a significantly higher toll, reporting more than 1,300 people dead or missing by May.