At least 70 dead as migrant boat capsizes off West Africa: Gambia

At least 70 people have died after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of West Africa, Gambia’s foreign affairs ministry said late on Friday. The tragedy is among the deadliest in recent years along a major migration route to Europe.

According to the ministry, a further 30 people are feared dead after the vessel — which had reportedly departed from Gambia and was carrying mainly Gambian and Senegalese nationals — sank off Mauritania’s coast early on Wednesday.

The boat was believed to be carrying around 150 passengers. Sixteen people were rescued, while Mauritanian authorities recovered 70 bodies on Wednesday and Thursday. Witness accounts suggest the final death toll could exceed 100, the ministry added.

The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands, typically used by African migrants trying to reach Spain, is one of the world's deadliest.

More than 46,000 irregular migrants reached the Canary Islands last year, a record, according to the European Union. More than 10,000 died attempting the journey, a 58% increase over 2023, according to the rights group Caminando Fronteras.

Gambia's foreign affairs ministry implored its nationals to "refrain from embarking on such perilous journeys, which continue to claim the lives of many".