Nouakchott, Mauritania, July 25: In a tragic incident off the coast of Mauritania, a boat carrying approximately 300 people hoping to reach Europe has capsized, resulting in at least 15 confirmed deaths and over 150 missing, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The vessel, a long wooden fishing boat, had departed from The Gambia, nearly 850 miles to the south. After spending seven days at sea, the boat overturned on Monday. The IOM expressed deep sorrow over the incident, noting the disappearance of more than 195 people.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of 15 migrants and the estimated disappearance at sea of 195+ people after a boat capsized in Nouakchott,” the IOM stated on social media.
The Mauritanian coastguard managed to rescue 120 individuals after two days of strong winds. Efforts to locate the missing persons are ongoing. Among the survivors, ten people required urgent medical attention, and four unaccompanied children were identified.
This incident is the latest in a series of maritime accidents off the coast of West Africa, a region increasingly used by migrants due to heightened vigilance in the Mediterranean. The perilous route to Spain’s Canary Islands has seen a surge in use, with many migrants traveling in overloaded and often unseaworthy vessels.
The IOM attributes the rise in the use of this dangerous route to a lack of safe and regular migration pathways. The organization highlighted that the absence of such options allows smugglers and traffickers to exploit desperate individuals.
This tragedy coincides with the 25th anniversary of the first known migrant shipwreck near the Canary Islands. On July 24, 1999, nine Moroccans drowned just meters off the shore of Fuerteventura.
According to a source in Mauritania, most of the passengers on the capsized vessel were from The Gambia and Senegal, countries experiencing political unrest, rising food prices, and depleting fish populations, prompting many to attempt the Atlantic crossing.
So far this year, over 19,700 migrants have reached the Canary Islands via the Atlantic route, a 160% increase from the previous year. The rise in arrivals has also led to an increase in fatalities. The Spanish NGO Ca-Minando Fronteras reported that more than 5,000 people died trying to reach Spain by sea in the first five months of this year, with the majority on the Atlantic route. This equates to an average of 33 deaths per day, the highest daily number since the NGO began tracking in 2007.
Ibba Sarr, a fishmonger in Nouakchott, told Reuters that the migrant vessel was found just north of a local fish market. He added, “Surely other lifeless bodies will be discovered in the next two days.