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MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish air and sea rescue teams searched Thursday for dozens of illegal immigrants feared missing after a small boat sank off Spain's Canary Islands in the Atlantic, a Spanish official with the maritime rescue service told CNN.
Authorities rescued at least 48 people, but dozens more are missing.
Their small boat sank about 100 miles southwest of Tenerife Island, one of the largest of the seven islands comprising the Canaries, the official said.
The operation began before before dawn on Thursday and those plucked out the ocean were being kept on ships near the scene.
The Canaries, far south of the Spanish mainland and off the western coast of Africa, have long been a preferred destination for African migrants trying to get a foothold in Europe.
Thousands of Africans without documentation have made the perilous journey, often in flimsy boats -- many have died. E-mail to a friend 
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