More Than 140 Dead or Missing After Refugee Boat Drifts off Mauritania

More than 140 refugees and migrants have died or remain missing after boats attempting to reach Europe became stranded off the coast of Mauritania, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

UNHCR said 144 people were reported dead or missing following maritime incidents between July 14 and July 18. Three rescue operations carried out during that period brought 387 people to safety.

The overwhelming majority of the victims were travelling on a vessel that departed from Bafuloto in The Gambia. The boat was rescued on July 18 after drifting at sea for 25 days and arrived at the Mauritanian port of Nouadhibou carrying numerous bodies and only 38 survivors. UNHCR reported that 143 people aboard that vessel had died.

Among the survivors were two children who had lost all their family members during the journey and were receiving hospital treatment, UNHCR spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh said. The agency did not immediately determine whether the victims had drowned or died from hunger, dehydration or other causes during the prolonged ordeal.

Mauritania’s coastguard provided a somewhat different account, saying the boat had been carrying about 160 people before it ran out of fuel and that 122 passengers remained missing. The reason for the discrepancy between the official and UN figures was not immediately clear.

A further passenger was declared dead when another boat reached Mauritania on July 14. In a separate operation, authorities rescued 179 people from a vessel that had departed Senegal.

The victims were from countries across sub-Saharan Africa, although UNHCR did not provide a detailed breakdown of their nationalities. Many migrants departing from West Africa attempt to reach Spain’s Canary Islands in search of safety, employment and better economic opportunities.

The Atlantic crossing to the Canary Islands is considered one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes because of the long distances involved and the widespread use of overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels. Mauritania has become an important transit and departure point for people attempting the journey.

UNHCR said that 17 sea arrivals had been recorded in the Mauritanian ports of Nouadhibou and Nouakchott so far in 2026, with 2,147 people rescued. Although sea arrivals to Europe through major migration routes fell by more than one-third during the first half of the year, deaths and disappearances remained at alarming levels.

The agency called for expanded access to education, legal employment and safe migration pathways in countries of origin and transit, arguing that such opportunities are necessary to reduce the number of people risking their lives on dangerous sea crossings