89 Dead As Migrant Boat Sinks Near Mauritanian Coast

A dangerous Atlantic ocean route is becoming more popular due to greater vigilance by authorities in the Mediterranean, according to the state news agency, with at least 89 migrants killed after a boat capsizes off the coast of Mauritania.

The state news agency and a local official said on Thursday that after their boat sank off the coast of Mauritania earlier this week, nearly 90 migrants headed for Europe died and dozens more are missing.

About four kilometres (2.5 miles) from Ndiago, the southwest metropolis of the country, the Mauritanian coast guard "recovered the bodies of 89 people aboard a large traditional fishing boat that capsized on Monday, July 1 on the coast of the Atlantic ocean," according to the official news agency.

According to survivors cited by the agency, the boat carried 170 passengers when it sailed from the Senegalese and Gambian borders, raising the total number of people missing to 72.

Similar details were provided to AFP by a senior local government official, who requested anonymity.

Nine individuals, including a five-year-old girl, were saved by the coastguard, according to the official news agency.

Strong currents make the Atlantic trip especially hazardous for migrants, who frequently travel in overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels lacking basic drinking water.

However, because of the Mediterranean's greater attentiveness, its appeal has soared.

The Spanish government reports that in 2023, the number of migrants arriving at Spain's Canary Islands more than doubled in a single year, reaching a record 39,910.

At their closest point, the Canary Islands of Spain are about 100 km off the coast of North Africa. However, a lot of boats—often lengthy wooden ships called pirogues—leave from much farther away, sailing from Western Sahara, Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco, and the Gambia.

According to Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish organisation, almost 5,000 migrants perished in the first five months of this year while attempting to reach Spain by sea, or the equivalent of 33 deaths every day.

With the great majority occurring on the Atlantic route, that is the highest daily death toll since statistics were first compiled in 2007.