Five bodies have so far been recovered from the sea off a popular tourist resort on Lanzarote after a migrant boat failed to make it to the shore in the dead of night.
The emergency services are still searching for other bodies amid fears that others have drowned on the holiday island.
Four men, all of Moroccan origin, have survived after they managed to swim to the rocky beach.
They have told the authorities that 15 or 16 people were on board.
According to them, the patera overturned at dawn in a rocky area of Caleta de Caballo, on the coast of the municipality of Teguise.
The four survivors were treated on the same beach by the Red Cross and did not need to be transferred to any health centre.
The search for the missing occupants is continuing by air, land and sea.
The Mayor of Teguise, Oswaldo Betancort says that "this event will reopen a thousand debates about immigration, borders and surveillance, but the sad thing is that today it takes new lives and with them, the illusions and hopes of many families who want to start live again as any human being deserves."
It is believed the boat overturned at about 4am today, with the emergency services being alerted at 8.45am.
The patera was found upside down and badly damaged and bodies have been found floating in the water throughout the day. Rough wave have been hindering the rescue effort.
