Au moins 40 morts et 80 disparus après un naufrage au large de la Mauritanie
A pirogue carrying about 130 people sank off the coast of Mauritania on Wednesday. Only 17 people were rescued by the Mauritanian coastguard.
A new tragedy has occurred off the coast of Mauritania. On Wednesday, a migrant boat capsized off the coast of the country. Only 17 people, all men, were rescued by the Mauritanian coastguard. This figure was confirmed to InfoMigrants by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The canoe, which left Gambia, had more than 130 people of Senegalese and Gambian origin on board. According to the latest report communicated to InfoMigrants, at least 40 people have died. This death toll could rise further, as some 80 exiles are still missing.
A video filmed by Senegalese nationals in Mauritania shows around ten bodies washed up by the sea and scattered across a Mauritanian beach. The identity papers of a Senegalese national from the Touba region were found on at least one of the bodies.
Deadly Road
Over the past ten years, the migratory route from the West African coast to the Canary Islands in Spain has become one of the main routes taken by sub-Saharan migrants.
Those seeking to leave from the Senegalese, Mauritanian, or Gambian coasts are fleeing poverty, unemployment, or a lack of prospects. They board illegally, for a fee, pirogues or precarious boats, completely unsuitable for such crossings.
It took several days of sailing to cover the 1,500 km to the Canaries in conditions described as terrible by survivors, at the mercy of hunger and thirst, the sun, the elements and damage.
After a record high in 2024, the number of arrivals has fallen sharply since the beginning of the year. According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, 11,883 exiles arrived in the Canary Islands by cayucos—the canoes used to make the crossing—compared to 22,304 during the same period last year. This represents a drop of 46.7%.
This route is also one of the deadliest. More than 10,400 migrants died or went missing at sea while trying to reach Spain in 2024, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras. This figure is underestimated, as many boats lost at sea are never found. In the first five months of 2025, a total of 1,482 deaths were recorded by the NGO on this route.
Similar shipwrecks have already occurred off the coast of Africa. In March 2025, at least 70 people died after being shipwrecked on the Canary Islands route. The exiles, who had set off from Mauritania, had drifted in the ocean for several days.
A few months earlier, in January 2025, 50 migrants drowned after their boat capsized en route to the Canary Islands, reported the NGO Caminando Fronteras.
Commentaires (4)
C'est vraiment triste. À nos dirigeants, gestu len askan wi. Vous êtes les commandants à bord, donnez de l'espoir à la jeunesse. L'espoir fait vivre wayé 4e sous sol, maat mou Toy ak amouniou marge de manœuvre tamit daloul khel.
Mais Depuis quand Touba est une région???
c'est tout ce que tu as retenu? bizarre etre vivant
Ils ne peuvent pas attendre 2050. C'est trop loin.
C'est bien au suivant." Téré mou teu bayi mou guiss" au moins les poissons auront leur ravitaillement. Ecosystéme. Paix á leur âme pour ceux qui sont décédés et bonne leçons pour les survivants.
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