Migrant vessle to Spain sinks, killing over one hundred

2025-08-30 05:24:14

(MENAFN) More than 140 people are feared dead after a migrant vessel en route to Spain’s Canary Islands sank off the coast of Mauritania on Friday, according to reports.

Mauritanian authorities told Spanish news outlets that at least 70 bodies have been recovered, alongside 17 survivors. Spanish NGO Walking Borders estimated that around 160 people were on board.

“This is one of the biggest tragedies of the summer,” Helena Maleno, head of Walking Borders, told Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser.

The ship went down about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott, on Thursday, though it had departed from The Gambia, reports noted.

The Canary Islands migration route, which crosses the Atlantic from northwest Africa to the Spanish archipelago, is considered one of the world’s deadliest. While official data shows nearly 47,000 people reached the islands in 2024, Walking Borders estimates that more than 9,750 died attempting the journey.

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