Jul 25. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The death toll from the sinking of a boat off the coast of Mauritania has risen to 25, an incident in which more than a hundred migrants have been rescued, according to the authorities of the African country.
The commander of the southern zone of the Mauritanian Coast Guard, Colonel Cheij Ma el Ainini Sidi Haiba, has detailed in statements given to the Mauritanian state news agency, AMI, that so far 25 bodies have been recovered in the area, while he has put the total number of those rescued during the operations at 103.
The Coast Guard had located the boat on Monday and noticed that it was in trouble, so a patrol was sent to assess the situation. Before the patrol arrived, the captain jumped off the boat, which began to sink, according to Sidi Haiba.
Sidi Heiba stressed that there were an estimated 140 people on board, all from African countries, and that the death toll could continue to rise. Among those rescued were 65 Senegalese, 52 Gambians and three Ivorians.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday put the death toll at 15 and the total number of occupants at nearly 300. The boat left Gambia and was adrift for seven days until it capsized on Monday near the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. The sinking occurred in the context of the Atlantic migration route.
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