89 migrants found dead off the coast of Mauritania

Nearly 90 migrants heading for Europe died when their boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania, AFP reported, citing the country’s state news agency. The Mauritanian coast guard recovered the bodies of 89 people from a large traditional fishing boat that capsized July 1, about four kilometers from the city of Ndiago. Nine survivors, including a five-year-old girl, were rescued. The boat had set sail from the Senegal-Gambia border with 170 passengers, leaving 72 missing. 

Despite the risks posed by strong currents and travel in overloaded, often unseaworthy boats, the Atlantic route has become more popular authorities have clamped down across the Mediterranean. In 2023, the number of migrants landing in Spain’s Canary Islands more than doubled to a record 39,910. Over 5,000 migrants died attempting to reach Spain by sea in the first five months of this year, marking the highest daily death toll since 2007.