Mauritania Coast Guard Rescues 161 Migrants Bound for Canary Islands

Mauritanian authorities said Thursday that they had intercepted a boat carrying 161 migrants off the country's Atlantic coast. The vessel, found near the fishing village of Amhijrat north of the capital Nouakchott, was attempting to reach Europe.

The coast guard described the operation as a rescue, noting that the passengers were in distress. An immigration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the boat's engine had failed and the vessel had come to a halt at sea. The migrants were reportedly suffering from a lack of food and water.

Those aboard included nationals from Senegal, Guinea, and Gambia, among them 17 children. The boat had departed from Banjul, Gambia's capital, eight days earlier and was headed for Spain's Canary Islands. The 161 people are expected to be transferred to a migrant reception center in Nouakchott.

Mauritania's waters have become a key departure point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking better economic opportunities in Europe. The route to the Canary Islands is considered one of the world's deadliest, with long distances and often unseaworthy, overcrowded vessels. According to the International Organization for Migration's Missing Migrants Project, at least 1,200 people died along this route in 2025. Last month, the UN refugee agency reported that nearly 150 people had died or gone missing from boats off Mauritania attempting the journey.