UN agency says 143 dead or missing after boat reaches Mauritania
UNHCR said a vessel from The Gambia drifted for 25 days before arriving in Nouadhibou with survivors and bodies on board.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
At least 143 refugees and migrants died or are missing after a boat trying to reach Europe was stranded off Mauritania, the UN refugee agency said. The case highlights the danger of the Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands, where long crossings and unsafe boats have repeatedly proved deadly, according to UNHCR.
UNHCR said Tuesday the vessel left Bafuloto in The Gambia and was rescued on July 18 after drifting for 25 days. When it reached the Mauritanian port of Nouadhibou, the agency said, it was carrying bodies as well as 38 survivors.
UNHCR spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva that two surviving children had lost all members of their families during the trip and were recovering in hospital. He said the dead came from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but did not give details on how they died.
Mauritania’s coastguard gave a separate figure for those unaccounted for, saying 122 people were missing. The coastguard said the boat had departed The Gambia with 160 people aboard and ran out of fuel.
Other rescues off Mauritania
UNHCR said the deaths occurred even as rescue teams carried out three operations off Mauritania from July 14 to July 18. Those missions brought 387 people to safety from other stranded boats, according to the agency.
One person also died on another vessel that disembarked in Mauritania on July 14, UNHCR said. The agency said it was extremely saddened by the latest deaths.
The Atlantic passage from West Africa to the Canary Islands is used by refugees and migrants seeking to reach European territory. UNHCR described the route as among the world’s deadliest, citing the distance involved and the use of crowded boats that are not fit for the journey.
Mauritania is a major departure point on the route, according to Al Jazeera, with tens of thousands of people attempting the crossing to the Spanish islands each year. Nouadhibou, where the boat arrived, is on Mauritania’s Atlantic coast.
Pressure on migration route
UNHCR called for wider access to education and employment as alternatives to the crossings. The agency’s appeal followed another deadly incident on a route shaped by enforcement efforts and shifting departure points.
Al Jazeera has reported that arrivals to the Canary Islands have fallen sharply during an EU-funded crackdown in Mauritania. Mauritanian authorities have deported thousands of asylum seekers and migrants, according to Al Jazeera, while departures have moved to longer and more dangerous journeys farther down the coast.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.