The body of a pregnant woman was discovered aboard a rubber boat carrying around 50 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, off the coast of the Canary Islands, as reported by Spanish coast guards on Tuesday. The vessel was spotted by fishermen less than a kilometer away from a beach on the eastern side of Lanzarote, one of the islands in the Spanish archipelago located off the northwest coast of Africa, stated a spokesperson from the Spanish maritime rescue organization, Salvamento Marítimo, to AFP.

Among the 53 migrants onboard were three children and seven women, one of whom, while pregnant, had tragically passed away. The cause of death of the pregnant woman was not specified by the spokesperson. The survivors were attended to in Arrecife, the main city of Lanzarote, according to the same source.

Spain serves as one of the primary entry points for irregular migrants into Europe. According to the latest figures from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, 5,914 migrants have arrived in the Canary Islands since the beginning of the year, representing a 31.5% decrease compared to the same period in 2022 (8,628).

Last week, a migrant boat carrying hundreds of people capsized off the coast of Greece, resulting in the death of at least 78 migrants. Just over a hundred individuals were rescued, while others remain missing.