Gambiaj.com – (Nouadhibou, Mauritania) – Mauritania’s coastguard has rescued more than 300 migrants, including 40 children, after their overcrowded wooden boat was found drifting in the Atlantic Ocean off the country’s coast, the authorities said on Friday.
The vessel, a traditional pirogue-style boat common along the West African coast, had set off from The Gambia carrying 315 people. Among them were 191 Senegalese nationals, 123 Gambians, and one Malian national, according to a statement from the Mauritanian coastguard.
The rescue took place during the night of Wednesday into Thursday off the fishing port of Nouadhibou, the country’s economic capital. A coastguard official said the boat had been drifting at sea when it was located and that all those on board, including men, women, and minors, were brought to safety.
“Among these people are men, women, and minors, including infants, who find themselves in a difficult humanitarian situation,” the coastguard said in its statement, adding that all passengers were “attended to in accordance with the applicable legal and humanitarian procedures” and given the necessary care.
The latest rescue adds to a growing tally of hundreds of migrants, mostly from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, and Mali, who have been pulled from Mauritanian waters in recent months as they attempted the dangerous crossing toward Europe.
It comes just days after Mauritanian coastguards rescued 42 other migrants, including women and children, from a separate boat that had suffered engine failure.
Behind the numbers lies a grimmer toll. Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing this year alone after their boats capsized or drifted for weeks without rescue. Last month, 144 people died or were reported missing after a boat that left The Gambia with around 190 people on board was found drifting for nearly 25 days before being rescued on July 18, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) described that incident as one of the deadliest landings its teams have witnessed in Mauritania since the start of 2026.
A Route Growing Longer and More Dangerous
For years, thousands of mostly young West Africans have risked the perilous Atlantic route in overloaded, often dilapidated boats, hoping to reach Spain’s Canary Islands and, from there, mainland Europe. The journey has claimed a devastating human cost: an estimated 10,000 people died attempting the Atlantic crossing in 2024 alone, departing from Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea.
Analysts and aid workers say the tightening of maritime controls in Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco has pushed departure points further south along the coastline, forcing migrants to spend even longer at sea, a shift that has made an already dangerous journey more deadly.
The surge in departures comes as European countries continue to restrict the issuance of visas and tighten border controls, leaving many migrants fleeing poverty with few legal options and forcing them toward clandestine sea routes instead.
Mauritania signed a migration partnership deal with the European Union in 2024, part of the bloc’s broader strategy of externalizing its border controls to transit and departure countries. The 210-million-euro package funds border surveillance, sea rescue capabilities, anti-smuggling operations, and development projects in Mauritania.
Despite the increased funding and surveillance, the frequency of rescues, and the recurring loss of life, the flow of migrants attempting the crossing shows little sign of slowing.
Reporting based on statements from Mauritania’s coastguard and information from the UN refugee agency and Doctors Without Borders.
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