At least seven people have perished and 12 others have been hospitalized after a migrant boat was rescued on Tuesday morning about 140 km south of Gran Canaria island, Spanish Maritime Rescue services said.

The casualties were due to serious dehydration while the migrants aboard attempting to reach the Spanish coast, the rescue services said.

The boat was spotted at around 20:00 (1900 GMT) on Monday by a merchant ship, which alerted rescue services. Two helicopters and a rescue vessel were dispatched to assist.