15 dead, 150 missing after immigrant ship sinks

At least 12 people have passed away, and another 150 are missing after a fishing vessel carrying around 300 migrants capsized off the coast of Mauritania, bound for Spain´s Canary Islands.

IOM report

The boat, known as a pirogue, was a type of artisanal fishing vessel that can struggle to deal with strong winds and Atlantic currents. The vessel is alleged to have departed Senegal full of passengers who hoped to emigrate to Europe in pursuit of a better life. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that the vessel capsized off the coast of Mauritania, with the current death toll standing at 15 souls lost.

The IOM reported that the Mauritanian Coast Guard arrived at the area off the coast of the capital city, Nouakchott, in time to save 120 people stranded in the water. Of this number, four were unaccompanied children, and 10 were rushed to the hospital for treatment. 

African immigration

Many of these African immigrants are fleeing poverty and political instability as they risk their lives to get to Europe. This trend is not a new one, however, it appears to have accelerated in 2024. Nearly 20,000 migrants have arrived on the shores of Spain´s Canary Islands, a number nearly triple that within the same period in 2023. 

Climate change

Climate change is also speculated to be one of the contributing factors to this rise in external immigration. Environmental degradation has been highlighted as a leading cause of a 34 per cent decrease in agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. This decrease has led to an increase in food instability, with a variety of knock-on effects that make life in sub-Saharan Africa worse, and the prospect of a new life in Europe, that much more appealing.

While thousands have survived the journey, similar tragic stories have been all too frequent in ships capsizing or disappearing not only in the Atlantic but in attempts to Italian and Greek shores while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.