Two people died as they attempted to reach Spain's Canary Islands on a boat with 40 migrants on board, while four others were evacuated by helicopter to hospital in serious condition, the Spanish maritime rescue service said on Tuesday.
The 34 survivors comprised 27 men and seven women of sub-Saharan African origin, a spokesperson for the rescue service told Reuters, without giving details of where the boat had started its voyage.
The number of migrants boarding boats to attempt the crossing to the Canary Islands has risen more than six-fold so far this year from the same period of 2023, Spanish Interior Ministry data showed.
A total of 11,932 irregular migrants reached the Atlantic Ocean archipelago between Jan. 1 and Feb. 29, compared with the 1,865 who arrived in the same period in 2023, the ministry said.