15 people dead, more than 195 missing after boat carrying migrants capsizes off Mauritania

At least 15 people have died and more than 195 are missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized near Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday.

The Mauritanian coastguard has rescued 120 people since the boat capsized Monday, including unaccompanied and separated children, according to IOM.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of 15 migrants and the estimated disappearance at sea of 195-plus people after a boat capsized in Nouakchott,” IOM’s West and Central Africa office said on X.

Rescue efforts are underway to locate the missing.

The passengers boarded the boat in Gambia seven days ago. IOM didn’t specify the nationalities of the dead or how the boat capsized. CNN has reached out to the UN agency for details.

A statement released by the IOM noted the tragedy took place amid increasing migration through what it referred to as the West Atlantic Route. It said that so far in 2024 alone, more than 19,700 migrants had arrived irregularly in the Canary Islands using this route, compared to just 7,590 during the same period in 2023.

It said its Missing Migrants Project had recorded more than 4,500 deaths and disappearances on this route since 2014, including over 1,950 deaths last year, the second deadliest on record.

Since June 2024, more than 76 boats with around 6,130 surviving migrants have disembarked in Mauritania, with at least 190 dead and missing migrants, it said.