At least 25 people have died and around 150 are missing after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania. The boat, carrying approximately 300 people mostly from Senegal and Gambia, met disaster near Nouakchott on July 22, 2024, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and local sources. About 120 people were rescued by the Mauritanian coast guard, with 10 survivors needing urgent medical care and four unaccompanied children identified.
The IOM reported that the migrants spent seven days at sea before the accident occurred. The incident highlights the dangers of the Mauritanian migrant route. Since June, over 76 boats with more than 6,000 surviving migrants have arrived in Mauritania, but at least 190 people have died or are missing during the journey.
In May, 26 migrants from Guinea perished when their boat sank off Senegal, and in early July, nearly 90 migrants heading for Europe died in a similar tragedy off the Mauritanian coast. Between January 1 and July 15, 2024, more than 19,700 migrants reached the Canary Islands using the Atlantic route, marking a 160% increase compared to the previous year.
Migration rights group Walking Borders estimates that almost 5,000 people died at sea in the first five months of 2024 while attempting to reach the Spanish archipelago. The IOM has called for strengthened efforts and collective action to prevent such tragedies and protect migrants.
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