Nouakchott (Agencies)
Yesterday, Mauritanian security authorities found the bodies of 87 illegal immigrants on the Mauritanian coast, off the coast of the city of N’Jakou, in the far southwest of the country.
Local media reported that a boat carrying about 184 irregular migrants sank near the city of Ngako.
According to the same local media, the bodies of 87 migrants were found, while 36 survivors of the accident were recovered.
The authorities continue to search for a number of missing persons who were on board the sunken boat.
Most of the migrants on board the boat were Senegalese, in addition to other migrants holding nationalities from other African countries.
The governor of Senegal’s Saint-Louis state, accompanied by a delegation of his assistants, arrived in Mauritania to learn the basic details of the incident.
In the past few years, Mauritania has become a preferred destination for irregular migrants from African countries wishing to cross to Europe.
The country’s authorities are trying to implement their security strategy in the field of combating irregular immigration, in order to protect its shores and control its border crossings.
Last February, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced €522 million in aid to Mauritania to combat irregular migration.
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