India, Sept. 4 -- At least five people have died and dozens more are feared dead after a boat carrying West African migrants was found drifting in the Atlantic. Forty-four people were brought to safety in the Canary Islands.

Spain's Maritime Rescue Service said Thursday that one of its planes had spotted a "precarious" boat drifting some 120 km (74 miles) south of the island of Gran Canaria on Wednesday afternoon.

Three survivors were evacuated by helicopter to a hospital on the island. The remaining 41 migrants were brought to safety by boat and disembarked early Thursday in the port of Arguineguin, where they were being cared for by the Red Cross.

All of the survivors were men, some underage, and came from Mali or Senegal, said Jose ...