At least 89 dead after migrant boat capsizes off coast of West Africa
A fishing boat said to be carrying 170 people, including children, capsized off the coast of Mauritania – along the Atlantic migration route from West Africa to the Canary Islands.
At least 89 people have died after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania, the West African country’s state news agency and the head of a fishing association said.
A further 70 people are said to be still missing and nine people, including a five-year-old girl, were rescued.
The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the world’s deadliest, and summer is its busiest period.
On Thursday, the coastguard were said to have recovered the bodies of 89 people who were bound for Europe.
At least 89 people have died after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania, the West African country’s state news agency and the head of a fishing association said.
A further 70 people are said to be still missing and nine people, including a five-year-old girl, were rescued.
The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the world’s deadliest, and summer is its busiest period.
On Thursday, the coastguard were said to have recovered the bodies of 89 people who were bound for Europe.
Arrivals to the islands also soared five times to over 16,500 from a year prior, according to Spanish interior ministry data.
Local media said the boat was a fishing boat and that it had been mostly Senegalese and Gambian people on board.
SOURCE: SKYNEWS
