seven dead migrants and one survivor on board

Fishermen said they discovered a boat off West Africa with seven dead migrants and one survivor on board. Spanish authorities said Thursday about 50 others were missing.
The Spanish fishing vessel found the boat off West Africa on Wednesday night, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said at a news conference.
He said at least six migrants were dead, and that a survivor said 50 people were missing.
However, skipper Jose Maria Abreu earlier told Cadena Ser radio that he counted seven dead, with the lone survivor in deplorable physical condition.

“The stench was unbearable. They must have been dead six or seven days,” Abreu told the radio station.

The boat was trying to reach Spain from Cape Verde, Perez Rubalcaba said.

He said the number of would-be migrants caught this year trying to sail from Africa to Spain, either to the mainland or the Canary Islands, is down sharp