At least 50 people died in the sinking of a boat en route from Mauritania to the Canary Islands, reports the Spanish online newspaper El Diario.
The boat, which left the African country on January 2, had 86 people on board.
On Wednesday, Moroccan authorities rescued 36 people alive, including a teenager. Many of those on board the boat were from Pakistan, according to the newspaper.
According to figures from the Spanish Interior Ministry, a record number of migrants arrived in the Canary Islands last year. The ministry’s overview shows that 46,843 migrants and asylum seekers traveled across the sea to the archipelago, which is on Spanish territory.