At least 15 dead and more than 150 missing after migrant boat capsizes off Mauritania

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says at least 15 people have died and more than 150 people are missing after a boat full of migrants hoping to make it to Europe capsized off the coast of Mauritania.

The IOM said in a statement that about 300 people boarded the wooden fishing boat in the Gambia about 1350 kilometers south of Mauritania. It was at sea for seven days before capsizing.

A Mauritanian source told the AFP the migrants were mainly from Senegal and the Gambia.

The IOM says the Mauritanian Coast Guard rescued 120 migrants. 15 were found dead on arrival and more than 150 remain missing.

Migrants, who face greater challenges reaching European shores via the Mediterranean route, are now increasingly attempting to get to Spain via the more treacherous Atlantic passage. 

The IOM says more than 19,700 migrants have made it to Spain’s Canary Islands via the Atlantic route so far this year – an increase of 160% since last year.

The Guardian, citing data from a Spanish NGO, reports more than 5000 people have died trying to reach Spain – most of them via the Atlantic crossing – in the first five months of this year.

“Safe and regular pathways to migration are sorely lacking, which is what gives room to smugglers and traffickers to put people on these deadly journeys,” the IOM said in August.