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Boat sinks off Spanish coast, 69 dead

2025-08-29 19:13:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Boat sinks off Spanish coast, 69 dead

At least 69 people have died and many more are missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania, the coast guard in the northwestern African country said.

Seventeen people have been rescued and searches are continuing for other passengers who were on the dugout canoe that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.

According to survivors, the ship left Gambia six days before Tuesday's accident, carrying about 160 people on board, mostly Gambian and Senegalese nationals.

The dangerous journey across the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African migrants trying to reach Europe.

Coast guard sources told Spanish news agency EFE that search efforts were continuing near the coast about 60km north of the capital, Nouakchott, and rescue teams were preparing to dive and inspect the sunken boat.

The migrants spotted the lights of a coastal town late Tuesday night and "moved to one side, causing it to capsize," a senior coast guard official told AFP news agency.

Caminando Fronteras spokeswoman Helen Maleno urged the coast guard to continue the search, describing the accident to Spanish media as one of the biggest "tragedies" of this summer.

Earlier this week, Mauritanian security forces were accused of systematically abusing migrants from other African countries.

The Human Rights Watch report alleged that the violations were exacerbated by an agreement with the European Union and Spain, which aims to curb dangerous sea crossings to the Canary Islands.





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