At least 45 would-be immigrants have died in an attempt to sail from West Africa to the Canary Islands, the Spanish police announced in Madrid Tuesday.
The illegal migrants' boat was adrift in Mauritania for two weeks after it experienced engine trouble, Spanish police said.
The 45 victims died from hunger and thirst.
The boat was thought to have set sail from Senegal with 100 would- be immigrants on board.
The remaining 55 were said to have survived the ordeal, according to the Mauritanian authorities.
According to official figures, over 100 have died so far this year in the attempt to reach the Canary Islands from sub-Saharan Africa.
The unofficial toll is undoubtedly higher. Last year, 31,000 Africans reached the Canary Islands, which belong to Spain, on board small boats.
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