Esther Imonmion
At least 69 people have died and dozens more are missing after a vessel carrying migrants from The Gambia capsized off the coast of Mauritania earlier this week, according to a revised death toll from the Mauritanian coast guard. The tragic incident, caused when passengers rushed to one side of the boat upon seeing land, highlights the extreme perils of one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes to Europe.
The wooden pirogue set sail from Gambia a week ago, carrying an estimated 160 people, primarily Senegalese and Gambian nationals.
The journey turned catastrophic during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday near the coastal town of Lemhaijratt, approximately 80 kilometers north of the capital, Nouakchott.
According to Mohamed Abdallah, an official with the Mauritanian coast guard, the passengers spotted the lights of the town.
In a desperate and fateful move towards potential rescue, they all rushed to one side of the already overcrowded and unseaworthy vessel.
The sudden shift in weight caused the boat to capsize, plunging all on board into the dark Atlantic waters.
Initial reports on Friday from the coast guard, communicated to The Associated Press, stated that 49 bodies had washed ashore, with only 17 people rescued.
However, in a subsequent update to the AFP news agency later that day, the official death toll was revised sharply upwards to 69 recovered bodies.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing, but the chances of finding more survivors from the estimated 74 missing persons are diminishing rapidly.
This disaster is a grim reminder of the deadly risks migrants take in search of a better life in Europe.
Mauritania, a vast West African nation with over 700 km of Atlantic coastline, has become a major transit point for migrants from across sub-Saharan Africa attempting to reach the Spanish Canary Islands.
The route is notoriously dangerous, with travelers embarking on long, perilous journeys in overcrowded, often unseaworthy boats.
This incident echoes a similar tragedy in July 2024 off the coast of Mauritania, where more than a dozen migrants died and 150 were declared missing.
The human cost of this migration path is staggering. Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras estimates that over 10,000 people died or went missing at sea in 2024 alone while attempting to reach Spain.
The year 2024 was a record period for arrivals in the Canary Islands, with 46,843 migrants reaching the archipelago.
While Spanish authorities report a 34.4% decrease in arrivals for the first part of 2025 compared to the same period last year, this latest shipwreck proves that despite the lowered numbers, the journey remains as deadly as ever.
Each statistic represents a life lost in pursuit of hope, a tragedy repeated with grim frequency along the West African coast.