The vessel was spotted some 265 nautical miles southwest of El Hierro, and an air force helicopter was deployed to airlift the three survivors, a spokeswoman for the service said.

‘The three suffered from hypothermia but were otherwise in good shape,’ she told AFP, adding they were taken by helicopter to a hospital in El Hierro. All migrants on the boat were from Sub-Saharan Africa, the spokeswoman said.

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