About 90 Europe-bound migrants were killed when a boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania earlier this week, state news agencies and local officials said Thursday, with dozens more still missing.
Citing survivors, the report said the boat had set off from the Senegal-Gambia border with 170 passengers, leaving 72 missing. (File) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
“The Mauritanian coast guard recovered the bodies of 89 people aboard a large traditional fishing boat that capsized on Monday, July 1, off the Atlantic coast, about four kilometres from the city of Ndiago in the southwest of the country,” the state news agency said.
Your wishes helped India win. Take a look back at India’s epic journey in the T20 World Cup. Click here
The Coast Guard said it rescued nine people, including a five-year-old girl.
Citing survivors, the news agency said the boat had set off from the border between Senegal and Gambia with 170 passengers on board, leaving 72 missing.
A local government official gave similar information to AFP on condition of anonymity.
The Atlantic route is particularly dangerous because of strong currents, and migrants often travel without enough drinking water and in overloaded, unseaworthy boats.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
However, due to increased caution in the Mediterranean, it has become more popular.
The number of migrants landing in Spain’s Canary Islands in 2023 has more than doubled in one year to a record 39,910, according to the Spanish government.
Off the coast of North Africa, the Spanish Canary Islands lie 100 kilometres away at their nearest point.
But many of the boats – often long wooden vessels called pirogues – set sail from far away, including Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal.
More than 5,000 migrants died trying to reach Spain by sea in the first five months of this year, the equivalent of 33 deaths per day, according to the Spanish charity Caminando Fronteras.
This is the highest number of deaths in a single day since statistics began being kept in 2007, with the majority of the deaths occurring on transatlantic routes.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} Get the latest updates on World News, USA News, Hollywood News, Anime and top news from around the world.
Source link
