2 dead and 38 rescued from a migrant boat near Spain’s Canary Islands

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish maritime rescuers say they have pulled 38 people alive and recovered two bodies from a migrant boat that was trying to reach the Canary Islands. The migrants were spotted by a merchant vessel south of Gran Canaria Monday evening. Four people in critical condition were evacuated to a hospital by helicopters while 34 others were taken to the port of Arguineguín by boat. Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said that seven women are among the survivors. Spanish authorities have been grappling with a surge in migrants and refugees from West Africa reaching the archipelago, a stepping stone to continental Europe.