More than 80 people dead in a cayuco that was adrift south of the Canary Islands after 26 days at sea

Tragic news from Gran Canaria, more than 80, including a baby, have died in a cayuco, which departed from Gambia in Africa and was heading towards Gran Canaria. The cayuco was carrying 128 passengers, and was rescued this Thursday at dawn, adrift, after 26 days at sea. Once rescued, only 44 survivors and five bodies remained on board. The vessel was located by one of Salvamento Marítimo's planes, 120 kilometers from Gran Canaria, receiving assistance from the Guardamar Urania at midnight.

One of the people who helped in the rescue explains to EFE what he experienced: "They were authentic living corpses, like zombies. They collapsed, they couldn't stand. Most had hallucinations, some even tried to hit us." The rescue boat was forced to leave the five bodies found in the cayuco, due to the bad state of the sea, with strong waves, and the urgency to offer medical help to the survivors.

The sailors of the Urania who helped, estimated the deceased on board the cayuco at 5, all men, and still do not rule out that there were more, due to the fact that at the time, it was night, and the vessel had its bottom full of water, in addition to the waves constantly hitting against the hull. The Spanish NGO, Caminando Fronteras, states that the Civil Guard has confirmed to them that the cayuco had inscriptions on its own hull that coincide with a vessel, which, according to their data, departed from Gambia on August 7 with 127 people on board.

On the return of the Guardamar Urania to Gran Canaria, Salvamento Marítimo sent a helicopter to urgently evacuate three of the survivors to hospitals in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, due to their serious state of health. The rest arrived on land around 3:30 without barely being able to stand. Apparently, according to the first provisional information, the survivors are all males from Gambia and Mali.

According to 112 Canarias, six of them have been hospitalized for dehydration and disorientation, in addition to presenting symptoms also from having drunk seawater. Some of the survivors have been able to speak with the Red Cross during their assistance at the Arguineguín pier, confirming that they had left "with more than a hundred people, many of whom died during the journey."

Yesterday, at 6:40 p.m. (Canary Islands time), the Maritime Rescue plane Sasemar 101 located a dugout canoe adrift 65 nautical miles southwest of Arguineguín.

Under the direction of the Las Palmas Maritime Captaincy, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center mobilized… pic.twitter.com/PiJpnMKVXp

— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) September 3, 2026