144 Migrants Feared Dead or Missing Off Mauritania Coast

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that a total of 144 migrants and refugees are feared dead or missing after a series of maritime incidents off the coast of Mauritania.The incidents involved boats carrying migrants and refugees from West Africa attempting to reach the Canary Islands.The UNHCR reported that hundreds of people were rescued and brought ashore in Mauritania, but the death toll has reached 144.Between July 14 and 18, three separate rescue and disembarkation operations were carried out in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, resulting in the rescue of 387 people of different nationalities.The most significant loss of life occurred on a boat that set sail from Bufalo, Gambia, bound for Spain. Only 38 people were rescued after the boat spent approximately 25 days at sea.