Several dead, 40 rescued as migrant boat found off African Cape Verde

As people are attempting to flee their respective countries to seek better lives, several people were found dead with 40 others rescued off the coast of the African country of Cape Verde in a migrant boat Tuesday.

According to authorities, there are several others who are feared to be deceased.

The country's media reported that the "pirogue style boat common in the region left Senegal a month ago," while police said around 100 people set off from the West African coast.

Police said: "The vessel was spotted Monday almost 200 miles from the island of Sal by a Spanish fishing boat, which alerted Cape Verde authorities." 

"We must open our arms and welcome the living and bury the dead with dignity," Inforpress news agency Health Minister Filomena Goncalves as saying.

Around 40 survivors and several dead bodies were found on the boat, but sources differed on the exact number.

The coast guard maintained that the total number of survivors and dead was 48, whereas a local morgue said it had received seven dead bodies.

Jose Rui Moreira, a health official in Sal, noted there were 38 survivors and seven needed to be taken to hospital.

Cape Verde lies around 600 kilometres (350 miles) off the coast of West Africa on the maritime migration route to the Spanish Canary Islands — a gateway to the European Union (EU).

Thousands of migrants fleeing poverty and war risk their lives to make the dangerous crossing each year.

They often travel in modest boats or motorised canoes supplied by smugglers, who charge a fee for the journey.

In January, rescue teams in Cape Verde saved around 90 migrants adrift in a canoe, while two others aboard the vessel died.

The migrants were from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone.