Deadly Atlantic shipwreck shows victims’ desperation, says UN refugee agency

The UN agency’s comments follow reports on Monday that dozens of people are missing after a boat carrying hundreds of people capsized in the waters off the coast of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott.

Recent months have continued to see a surge in the number of people setting out from North and West African countries, including Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco. Their final destination is often the Canary Islands.

“UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, is deeply saddened by this tragic shipwreck that has resulted in the deaths and disappearances of numerous people off the coast of Mauritania,” said spokesperson Shabia Mantoo. “The vessel, which was following the West Atlantic route, capsized near Nouakchott, claiming the lives of at least 15 people with many others still missing.”

According to the UN migration agency, IOM, approximately 300 people including women and children boarded a wooden “pirogue” boat in The Gambia, spending seven days at sea before the tragedy happened. Ms. Mantoo noted that this was the second deadly shipwreck in the region reported this month, after one at the start of July. 

Deadly risks

The so-called “West Atlantic route” off the coast of West Africa “is one of the deadliest routes in the world, with thousands of migrants and refugees drowning in recent years”, the UNHCR official told journalists in Geneva.

Since June last year, more than 76 boats with approximately 6,130 survivors have disembarked in Mauritania, while around 190 perished at sea before the two latest tragedies.

The UN agency and the UNHCR Representative in Mauritania, Elizabeth Eyster, reiterated calls to the international community to support legal solutions for people in danger or in dire situations so that they can move across countries and continents without risking their lives, as is increasingly the case.

“We do see a phenomena of these movements being taken by people who are extremely vulnerable, they're desperate, their desperation and vulnerability sometimes exploited by smugglers, by traffickers, by others,” Ms. Mantoo said. “So, there are a variety of modalities that are resorted to, but really it speaks to the desperation in people resorting to these journeys because there are simply what they perceive to be no safer pathways.”

She added: “We are calling for action to address this as there have been many tragedies in this region and in others at sea and also on land. But there should be accountability indeed, for anyone that that profits off the desperation of others.”

Missing migrants tracked

According to the UN migration agency, from 1 January to 15 July 2024 alone, more than 19,700 migrants arrived irregularly in the Canary Islands using this route compared to the same period in 2023, when 7,590 migrants were recorded - an increase of 160 per cent.

IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has recorded more than 4,500 deaths and disappearances on this route since 2014, including over 950 deaths last year, the second deadliest on record.

Tragic news from Yemen

Separately, IOM reported that 12 people died, and four are missing, following a shipwreck off the coast of Yemen early on Wednesday morning.

Survivors said the vessel was carrying 20 Ethiopian migrants, mainly from the Tigray region, when it capsized due to strong winds and a malfunctioning engine.

Twenty-two people were on board and six survived, including the Yemeni captain and his assistant. Two bodies of a man and a woman were recovered and buried by local authorities.

IOM said the recent military campaign in Yemen targeting smuggler networks and increased coastal patrols have led to a significant decrease in migrant arrivals from Djibouti and Somalia, yet smuggling continues, underscoring the need for comprehensive strategies to tackle the problem.

“The alarming increase in shipwrecks and migrant deaths is a stark reminder of the perils faced by those fleeing desperate conditions,” said Matt Huber, IOM Acting Chief of Mission in Yemen.