70 drown as migrant boat capsizes off Mauritanian coast

At least 70 people have been confirmed dead after a boat transporting migrants capsized off the coast of Nouakchott, Mauritania.

The boat, which departed from Sami Koto, a village in Gambia’s north bank region, was carrying about 150 people, primarily from The Gambia and Senegal.

The Gambian ministry of foreign affairs confirmed the incident on Friday evening.

A Mauritanian official said the migrants aboard, upon seeing the lights of a town 80 kilometres north of Nouakchott, moved to one side of the boat, causing it to capsize.

So far, 16 survivors have been rescued, with five of them confirmed as Gambian nationals.

“Tragically, based on the number of survivors and the vessel’s estimated passenger count, it is believed that over 100 people may have perished in the incident,” the Gambian foreign ministry said.

The three West African countries lie along a connected stretch of the Atlantic coast, with The Gambia enclosed by Senegal, and Mauritania directly to Senegal’s north, making them key transit points for migration.

But the route which leads to the Canary Islands, Spain, has proven to be one of the world’s deadliest.

In July 2024, at least 89 migrants died when their boat, which had at least 170 people aboard, capsized off the coast of Mauritania.

In December of the same year, nearly 70 were killed on the same route.

In January 2025, as many as 50 people were believed to have drowned while aboard a 13-day voyage bound for the Canary Islands from West Africa.