Rabat - The bodies of 11 African migrants were found by the Moroccan navy on Tuesday after their boat capsized in the Atlantic Ocean, the official MAP news agency said.

Local officials told MAP that a vessel carrying the migrants overturned around 140km south of Boujdour in Western Sahara after encountering bad weather.

They said the migrants were trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands.

On Monday, the Spanish coastguard rescued 47 African migrants aboard a ship heading for the islands, which used to be a key route for Africans trying to reach Europe, but their numbers fell after Spain increased patrolling.

Migrant arrivals in the archipelago peaked at over 30 000 in 2006 but fell back to just 296 in 2014, according to interior ministry figures.