Another 14 people are still missing.

The crew of the Villa de Pitanxo sent up a distress beacon after getting into trouble about 280 miles off Newfoundland.

Two fishing boats nearby tried to reach them but when they arrived, seven had died.

A statement from Spain's fisheries ministry said four of the vessel's life rafts had been spotted.

Rescuers had been able to get to three and were still trying to reach the fourth, it said.

Government official Maica Larriba added: "Two were completely empty and in one of them were just three survivors in a state of hypothermic shock because the temperature of the water is terrible, very low."

The crew of 24 included 16 Spanish, plus Peruvian and Ghanaian nationals, according to Spanish media reports.

A Canadian rescue mission was also launched, with the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Halifax deploying fishing
vessels, a rescue ship and a helicopter.

Nores Marin, the Villa de Pitanxo's owners, declined to comment.

Based in the city of Pontevedra in the north western region of Galicia, Spain, the Nores Group has fishing vessels operating in the South Atlantic, off the Canadian coast and between Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau.