Cape Verdean media reported that the “pirogue” style boat common in the region left Senegal a month ago, while police said around 100 people set off from the West African coast.

The vessel was spotted on Monday almost 200 miles from the island of Sal by a Spanish fishing boat, which alerted Cape Verde authorities, police said.

“We must open our arms and welcome the living and bury the dead with dignity”, said health minister Filomena Goncalves, quoted by the Inforpress news agency.

Around 40 survivors and several dead bodies were found on the boat, but sources differed on the exact number.

The coast guard said the total number of survivors and dead was 48.

The local morgue said it had received seven dead bodies.

Jose Rui Moreira, a health official in Sal, said there were 38 survivors and seven needed to be taken to hospital.

Cape Verde lies around 600km off the coast of West Africa on the maritime migration route to the Spanish Canary Islands – a gateway to the European Union.

Thousands of migrants fleeing poverty and war risk their lives to make the dangerous crossing each year.

They often travel in modest boats or motorised canoes supplied by smugglers, who charge a fee for the journey.

In January, rescue teams in Cape Verde saved around 90 migrants adrift in a canoe, while two others aboard the vessel died.

The migrants were from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone.