The UN refugee agency reported on Tuesday that 144 migrants are dead or missing after attempting to reach Europe via the waters off Mauritania, following three separate rescue operations carried out between July 14 and 18.
The heaviest toll came from a single boat that departed Bufaloto, Gambia, and spent 25 days adrift before being rescued on July 18. By the time it reached shore in Nouadhibou, 143 people on board had died, leaving only 38 survivors. UNHCR staff present at the disembarkation said two children among the survivors had lost every member of their family during the journey and are now being treated in hospital. Agency spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh said it wasn’t yet clear whether the deaths were caused by drowning, dehydration, starvation, or other factors, though he confirmed the victims came from various sub-Saharan African countries.
A separate vessel that arrived on July 14 had one person dead on arrival. In total, the three rescue operations over that five-day window saved 387 people. UNHCR noted that Mauritania has now recorded 17 disembarkations in 2026 alone, with 2,147 people rescued so far this year.
The agency pointed to a broader shift in migration patterns: sea arrivals to Europe are down more than a third this year, with just over 40,000 recorded compared to 65,407 over the same period in 2025. Despite the drop in overall crossings, UNHCR warned that deaths and disappearances remain at troubling levels, and renewed its call for greater access to education and job opportunities in origin countries as safer alternatives to the sea route.
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