More than 140 dead, missing on refugee boat stranded off Mauritania

play Live Sign upShow navigation menuNavigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedSportOpinionVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomyHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelSponsored Contentplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftTrendingUS-Israel war on IranTracking Israel's ceasefire violationsDonald Trumpcaret-rightNews|MigrationMore than 140 dead, missing on refugee boat stranded off MauritaniaUN says a boat carrying refugees and migrants from Africa drifted for 25 days before arriving at a port with dead and living on board. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoFishermen at sea near Nouadibou, Mauritania [File: Khaled Moulay/AP]By Reuters and The Associated PressPublished On 22 Jul 202622 Jul 2026At least 143 refugees and migrants are dead or missing from a single boat off the coast of Mauritania that was trying to reach Europe, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, says. The agency said on Tuesday that it was “extremely saddened” by the deaths, which came despite three rescue operations off Mauritania between July 14 and 18 that pulled 387 people to safety from other stranded boats. The vessel had set off from Bafuloto in The Gambia and was rescued on July 18 after 25 days adrift, carrying bodies and 38 survivors when it reached the port of Nouadhibou, the UNHCR said. “Among the survivors of… that ship were two children who have lost all their family members during the journey, and they are recovering in hospital,” UNHCR spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva. Another person died on another vessel that disembarked in Mauritania on July 14. The dead were from sub-Saharan African countries, he said, without giving details of how they died. Mauritania’s coastguard put the number missing at 122, saying the boat ran out of fuel after leaving The Gambia with 160 people on board. The UNHCR called the route to the Canary Islands “one of the world’s deadliest”, citing long distances and overcrowded, unseaworthy boats, and urged more access to education and jobs to offer alternatives to the crossings. Mauritania is a major departure point on the Atlantic route, where tens of thousands attempt to reach the Canary Islands, part of Spain, each year. Arrivals have fallen sharply under a European Union-funded crackdown, in which Mauritanian authorities have deported thousands of asylum seekers and migrants and pushed departures to longer, deadlier journeys from further down the coast. Advertisement AboutAboutShow moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English: