15 migrants killed in Mauritania shipwreck

Fifteen migrants have been killed in a shipwreck off Mauritania, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said, adding that more than 190 people were still missing.

The incident took place near the capital city of Nouakchott, where a rescue operation is still underway to recover people.

The Mauritian coastguard said it had rescued 120 people, including four unaccompanied children.

The IOM said around 300 people had boarded a wooden pirogue boat in Gambia, and spent seven days at sea before the boat capsized on 22 July.

Fifteen were confirmed dead when the coastguard arrived, while 10 others were admitted to hospital for urgent medical care.

Ibba Sarr, a fishmonger at a Nouakchott fish market, told the Reuters news agency that strong winds in the past two days had moved the bodies closer to the shore.

Mr Sarr said he saw around 30 bodies being collected from the beach.

“Surely other lifeless bodies will be discovered in the next two days.”

The disaster follows a similar incident on 5 July, when Mauritanian coastguards recovered the bodies of 89 migrants from a capsized boat.

The IOM said many migrants were seeking to reach the Canary Islands, located off the coast of Morocco. The route from West Africa to the Spanish territory is one of the world’s deadliest.

More than 5,000 migrants were killed trying to reach Spain by sea in the first five months of 2024, according to charity Ca-minando Fronteras.

40,000 people arrived in the Canary Islands last year, more than twice as many as in 2022, according to Spanish government data.

In April, the EU gave Mauritania €210m (£177m; $225m) in aid, almost €60m of which is earmarked for the fight against undocumented migration to Europe.