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Rabat – A tragic migrant disaster took place in Mauritania on Tuesday night, when a pirogue capsized off the country’s coast.
At least 49 people died, while 17 survived and nearly a hundred remain missing, according to the AFP.
The survivors, all men, include eleven Senegalese and six Gambians. They reached the shore after swimming for over an hour and were spotted around 11:30 p.m. by a coastal guard patrol north of the port of Tanit, approximately 80 kilometers from Nouakchott.
According to these survivors, the pirogue had departed from The Gambia six days earlier with 160 people aboard. The engine failed off Mauritania’s coast.
A contact arranged a backup pirogue from Mauritania. When passengers attempted to transfer the broken engine, panic erupted. Many clung to the rescue boat, which caused the original vessel to tilt and capsize.
Rescue teams launched operations from Tanit and Nouakchott immediately. By late Thursday afternoon, authorities had recovered 49 bodies.
A video filmed by Senegalese nationals in Mauritania shows around ten bodies washed ashore. Identification papers of a Senegalese man from the Touba region appeared on at least one victim.
This tragedy comes as attempts to reach Europe through dangerous routes continue to rise.
Earlier this week, nearly 200 people, including young men, women, children, and people with disabilities, risked their lives swimming from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
These crossings depict the extreme lengths migrants endure to reach European territory despite the life-threatening conditions of the Mediterranean waters.
