At least 70 people were killed when a migrant boat capsized off West Africa, with about 30 more feared dead after the vessel sank off Mauritania. The boat, believed to have departed Gambia and carrying mostly Gambian and Senegalese nationals, had an estimated 150 passengers; 16 people were rescued. Mauritanian authorities recovered 70 bodies, and witness accounts indicate the death toll may exceed 100. The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands remains one of the deadliest migration paths to Europe; over 46,000 irregular migrants reached the islands last year while more than 10,000 died attempting the journey, a 58pc rise from 2023. Gambia's foreign affairs ministry urged nationals to avoid such perilous crossings.
At least 70 people were killed when a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of West Africa, Gambia's foreign affairs ministry said late on Friday, in one of the deadliest accidents in recent years along a popular migration route to Europe. Another 30 people are feared dead after the vessel, believed to have departed from Gambia and carrying mostly Gambian and Senegalese nationals, sank off the coast of Mauritania early on Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement.
The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands, typically used by African migrants trying to reach Spain, is one of the world's deadliest. More than 46,000 irregular migrants reached the Canary Islands last year, a record, according to the European Union. More than 10,000 died attempting the journey, a 58pc increase over 2023, according to the rights group Caminando Fronteras.
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