The vanishing: peril haunts the Canaries migrant freedom route

Every year thousands of refugees from conflict, climate and instability in Africa board vessels in search of a new life in Europe. But hundreds never arrive - and even those who make it face hostility and a life of fear

At 6.30am on Friday 28 May, three fishermen at work four miles off the southern coast of Tobago spotted a large white boat adrift on the dawn waters of the Caribbean.

As they drew closer, the trio saw the boat's shape was far from local, and noticed a strong smell coming from inside it. The body the fishermen glimpsed at the bow was enough to confirm their suspicions. They called the coastguard who, unable to dispatch a vessel, asked them to tow the boat ashore at Belle Garden beach.