At least 70 migrants have died after their boat capsized off the Mauritanian coast, in one of the deadliest migration disasters in recent years.
Gambia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the vessel, which departed from Gambia, was carrying about 150 people, most of them Gambian and Senegalese nationals. The death toll could rise to as many as 100.
Only 16 survivors were rescued, while Mauritanian authorities recovered 70 bodies.
The incident highlights the extreme dangers of the Atlantic migration route to Spain’s Canary Islands, considered one of the deadliest in the world. More than 10,000 people have lost their lives on this route in recent years, according to human rights organizations.
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