Dozens of people have died, including a baby, after a vessel was adrift in the Atlantic for 26 days.
Rescuers discovered survivors and some bodies on a small fishing boat which is said to have left Gambia almost a month before.
It was destined to cross the sea to the Canary Islands with 128 people on board, but ended up lost in the ocean.
Only 45 people survived the ordeal, and were rescued early this morning around 74 miles (120km) off Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, according to Spanish news agency Efe.
Survivors said they had sailed for the Canary Islands with ‘more than one hundred people.’
Rescuers also found five bodies remaining on board the canoe-style vessel.
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Teams were forced to leave the five bodies behind due to rough seas.
The survivors were taken to the port of Arguineguin.
One of Maritime Rescue’s planes spotted the small boat before alerting the authorities overnight.
Spain’s Civil Guard confirmed that the canoe’s hull inscriptions matched a vessel which left Gambia last month.
Metro has approached Maritime Rescue for a comment.
The crossing from the African continent to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest migrant routes, claiming hundreds of lives every year.
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