London, Aug. 30: At least 69 migrants have died after a boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania in North Africa.
The BBC reported that many remain missing, while 17 people were rescued. Search operations for the remaining passengers are still ongoing, according to the BBC.
The wooden boat had departed from Gambia about six days earlier and was headed towards Spain’s Canary Islands. Around 160 people were on board, most of them from Gambia and Senegal.
According to survivors, the vessel overturned late Tuesday night after passengers rushed to one side upon spotting lights from a coastal town. A senior coast guard official told AFP that the incident occurred about 60 kilometers north of Nouakchott, Mauritania’s capital, where rescue efforts continue.
The Atlantic crossing has increasingly become a route for African migrants trying to reach Europe, despite being one of the most dangerous sea passages.
Last year, around 47,000 people arrived in the Canary Islands. Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras estimates that over 9,000 migrants died on the journey during the same period.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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