144 MIGRANTS DEAD OR MISSING IN ATLANTIC CROSSING OFF MAURITANIA

At least 144 refugees and migrants are reported dead or missing following a series of maritime incidents off the coast of Mauritania between 14 and 18 July, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Three separate rescue operations during that period brought 387 people safely ashore at the Mauritanian ports of Nouadhibou and Nouakchott. The deadliest incident involved a vessel that departed from Bufuloto in The Gambia bound for Spain's Canary Islands, 905 nautical miles away. The boat was rescued on 18 July after drifting for nearly 25 days, with 38 survivors and 143 others reported dead or missing. Mauritania's coastguard provided a different figure, stating that 122 people were missing and that the vessel had departed with 160 people aboard before running out of fuel.

Among the survivors of the most affected boat were two children who lost all their family members during the voyage and are recovering in hospital. UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva that the deceased were from sub-Saharan African countries but did not provide details of how they died. The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands remains one of the world's deadliest migration corridors owing to vast distances, unpredictable weather, overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels, and limited access to timely rescue operations. So far this year, UNHCR has recorded 17 rescue and disembarkation operations in Mauritanian ports, bringing 2,147 refugees and migrants safely ashore.

UNHCR called for stronger international cooperation to expand safe migration pathways and address the human cost of these crossings. The agency noted that arrivals in the Canary Islands have declined by 61 per cent compared to 2025, with fewer than 40,000 reaching Europe so far this year against more than 65,000 in the first half of 2025. UNHCR stated that deaths and disappearances at sea continue at significant levels, with many incidents occurring far from public attention and sometimes resulting in entire vessels vanishing. Mauritania serves as a major departure point on the Atlantic route, where tens of thousands attempt the crossing to the Canary Islands each year.