Migrant boat sinks leaving at least 49 dead and 100 missing

At least 49 people died and some 100 remain missing after tragedy struck off the coast of Mauritania. A vessel carrying dozens of migrants capsized between Tuesday night and Wednesday, the Mauritanian coast guard and police force told AFP.

The incident happened as the migrants saw the lights of a town off the coast of Mauritania 50 miles north of the capital Nouakchott and "moved to one side, causing it to capsize", a senior coastguard official told AFP. According to a statement from the migrants, the boat left The Gambia a week earlier and carried 160 people, including Senegalese and Gambian nationals. Officials did not say where the migrants in Tuesday's accident were headed and whether Mauritania was meant to be their final destination. So far, patrols have rescued 17 people. The 49 bodies have been recovered and buried.

The journey from Africa to Europe is notoriously dangerous, with treacherous ocean currents and poorly maintained boats putting lives at risk. In 2024 alone, the NGO Caminando Fronteras reported that at least 10,457 migrants lost their lives attempting to reach Spain by sea. In July last year, 89 migrants and refugees bound for Europe died as a boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania.

The wooden boats used by smugglers are ill-suited for long journeys, which can cover over 1,000 kilometres and sometimes take several days or even weeks. These vessels are often severely overcrowded and carry little to no food or supplies.

Mauritania, on the edge of the Atlantic, is a key transit point for undocumented migrants from across Africa, many of whom attempt the dangerous Atlantic journey from West Africa to Europe. Mauritanian authorities reported having intercepted over 30,000 migrants between January and April 2025.

The country also reportedly dismantled 88 smuggling networks. Nouakchott is stepping up its efforts against irregular migration after the country became a popular departure point for migrant boats bound for Spain's Canary Islands.

A new report from Human Rights Watch has claimed that over the past five years, Mauritanian security forces have committed a range of serious abuses against migrants and asylum seekers, including torture and rape. The country, which has secured costly agreements with the European Union to prevent migrants from attempting the perilous Atlantic crossing to Europe, has rejected the findings, saying it has taken recent steps to protect migrant rights. The European Commission has said its deal is "anchored" in upholding rights.

Caminando Fronteras reported that around 83% of the 7,270 people who arrived in the Canary Islands in January 2024 had departed from Mauritania. This marked a 1,184% increase compared with January 2023, when the majority of migrants were coming from Senegal.

Irregular migration has been a persistent issue in The Gambia, where many young people, facing poverty, risk their lives trying to reach Europe in search of better prospects. Between 2015 and 2022, more than 35,000 Gambians arrived in the EU, according to the border agency Frontex, with peak years seeing around 7,000 attempting the journey each year due to severe political and economic hardships.