Mauritanian coastguards have recovered 89 bodies from a boat that capsized in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. Among the survivors, nine people were rescued, including a five-year-old girl, but many others remain missing.
The boat, a traditional fishing vessel, set sail last week from the Senegalese-Gambian border area with 170 people on board.
It capsized off Mauritania’s southwestern coast, a key transit point for migrants attempting to reach Europe from West Africa. Thousands of boats departed from Mauritania last year, with the Canary Islands being a common destination.
The Spanish government reported nearly 40,000 arrivals in the Canary Islands last year, double the number from the previous year.
Overloaded boats are a common sight as migrants desperate to reach Europe take on perilous journeys. The Caminando Fronteras charity estimates that more than 5,000 migrants died while attempting to reach Spain by sea in the first five months of 2024.
In response to the crisis, the European Union granted Mauritania €210 million in aid in April, with almost €60 million allocated to combat undocumented migration to Europe.
