Mauritanian authorities have rescued over 200 people and are searching for around 120 following two shipwrecks of boats heading to the Canary Islands. One of the vessels drifted at sea for 25 days, ten of which were spent adrift.
At least 120 people are missing and over 200 have been rescued in two search operations off the coast of Mauritania, according to the African country's Ministry of Fisheries. The boats, which set sail from Gambia and Senegal, were destined for the Canary Islands, the deadliest Atlantic route in the world.
25 days adrift: the hell of the survivors
The first boat, with about 160 people on board, departed from Banjul (Gambia) and sailed for 15 days before running out of fuel. The occupants were adrift for another ten days, without water or food, forced to drink seawater. This was recounted by the 37 survivors rescued by Mauritanian authorities after two days of operations over the weekend.
Among the rescued are 22 Senegalese, seven Gambians, and eight Guineans. Search teams also recovered a body in the area, although it is feared that the death toll may be much higher. The search for the missing continues, as reported by the Mauritanian Ministry of Fisheries on its social media.
The survivors were taken to the port of Nouadhibou, where seven of them had to be urgently hospitalised for medical attention due to the harsh conditions endured during the journey.
Second rescue with 179 people on board
In a second operation carried out on Saturday, authorities rescued 179 people from another vessel. Of these, 168 were Senegalese, five Ghanaians, four Gambians, and two Malians. Some also required hospital care, although the severity of their condition has not been detailed.
Mauritania has become one of the main departure points for the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. In recent weeks, authorities have intercepted several boats with hundreds of people on board, in a context of a constant increase in crossings over the past few years.
The deadliest route in the Atlantic
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that around 6,600 people have died or gone missing on this route since 2014, surpassed only by the figures from the Sahara Desert, where over 7,100 deaths and disappearances have been documented.
For the residents of the Canary Islands, these figures are not unfamiliar: the arrival of boats to the shores of the archipelago is a constant that tests the emergency and reception resources of the islands. Each rescue at sea involves a coordinated deployment of Maritime Rescue, Red Cross, and port authorities, who have already assisted thousands of migrants this year.
The Government of the Canary Islands has repeatedly reiterated the need for a united and coordinated response from the European Union, as well as more resources to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Atlantic. Meanwhile, the route continues to claim lives at the gates of the archipelago.
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