At least 25 migrants have died and another 103 have been rescued by Mauritanian authorities after their boat sank off the coast of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, security sources told EFE on Wednesday.
The boat, which had left the coast of Gambia and was bound for the Canary Islands, was carrying 140 people on board, 12 of whom are still missing, according to the same sources.
In a statement released by its office in Nouakchott, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) put the number of migrants aboard the ship at approximately 300. It also said that 15 had died, 120 had been rescued and the rest were still missing.
He said the migrants had spent seven days at sea before their boat sank near Nouakchott on Monday.
Among the survivors, 10 people were urgently evacuated to hospitals for medical care, and 4 unaccompanied children were identified among the migrants rescued alive.
The IOM note adds that this “tragic event” occurs in the context of increasing migration flows along the Western Atlantic route, where numerous migrants attempt dangerous journeys in search of better opportunities or to escape difficult situations in their countries of origin.
He adds that this year alone, from January 1 to July 15, 2024, more than 19,700 migrants have arrived irregularly in the Canary Islands using this route, compared to the same period in 2023, when 7,590 migrants were recorded, representing an increase of 160%.
The IOM’s Missing Migrants project has recorded more than 4,500 deaths and disappearances on the route since 2014, including more than 1,950 deaths last year, the second deadliest year on record.
Since June 2024, more than 76 boats with approximately 6,130 surviving migrants have disembarked in Mauritania, with at least 190 migrants dead or missing, the IOM note adds.
Source: www.eldiario.es
