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Nearly 150 migrants died or went missing in separate boat incidents off the coast of Mauritania last week while attempting to reach Europe, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.
The agency said it was “extremely saddened” by the tragedies, reporting that 144 people were dead or missing in two incidents between July 14 and 18. A total of 387 migrants were rescued.
According to Mauritania’s coast guard, 122 people went missing after a boat carrying 160 migrants from Gambia to Spain’s Canary Islands ran out of fuel and drifted at sea for 25 days near the capital, Nouakchott.
In a separate incident, the coast guard rescued 179 people on Saturday from a boat that had departed from Senegal.
The discrepancy between the figures released by the UN agency and Mauritanian authorities was not immediately explained.
Mauritania has become a key departure point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Europe, as limited economic opportunities continue to drive people to undertake the perilous journey.
The UN refugee agency described the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands as one of the world’s deadliest migration corridors because of its long distances and the frequent use of overcrowded, unseaworthy boats.
