Pirogue rescued in Mauritania: 99 Senegalese, including six women and two children

The Mauritanian coast guard announced on Thursday that it had rescued more than 160 migrants, including 17 children, on Tuesday after an engine failure off the coast of Mauritania, where hundreds of migrants have been rescued or reported missing at sea in recent months.

In search of a better future in Europe and at the risk of their lives, many Africans attempt to reach the continent clandestinely, as European countries have drastically restricted the issuance of visas and strengthened controls at their borders.

Mostly from Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and Mali, hundreds of migrants have been rescued in recent months off the coast of Mauritania, while hundreds more have died or gone missing in shipwrecks.

The pirogue rescued on Tuesday, which had departed from The Gambia, was carrying 99 Senegalese, including six women and two children. The other occupants were 56 Guineans, including three men, 38 women, and 15 children. Six Gambians, including two men and four women, were also on board, according to a statement published on the Mauritanian coast guard's Facebook page.

"The vessel had set sail from Banjul, the capital of Gambia, and had sailed for about eight days on the high seas before being spotted by coast guard units, who intervened to rescue all those on board," the statement added.

"All the occupants of the pirogue are safe and sound, but particularly affected by the journey and the precarious condition of their vessel, which already had an engine problem," it was added.

The 161 migrants were "taken into care and the necessary measures were taken before their transfer to the reception center in Nouakchott," the capital of Mauritania, the statement continued.

Temporary reception center

Migrants are usually taken after their rescue to a temporary reception center (TRC), where they are cared for by humanitarian organizations, before their situation is examined.

More than 300 migrants, including 40 children, "in a difficult humanitarian situation", were rescued on the night of August 19-20 by the Mauritanian coast guard, as their overloaded pirogue was adrift.

The wooden pirogue, which departed from Gambia, was carrying 315 people, including 191 Senegalese, among them three women and 29 children, 123 Gambians, including 40 women and 11 children, as well as one Malian, according to the Mauritanian coast guard.

In mid-August, 42 migrants from Gambia and Senegal, including women and children, were rescued by the Mauritanian coast guard when their boat drifted after an engine failure.

In July, 144 people died or went missing at sea after a boat carrying approximately 190 people set sail from Gambia. It was rescued on July 18 "after drifting for nearly 25 days on the Atlantic Ocean," according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Thousands of people from West Africa, mostly young people, have been trying for years to reach Europe clandestinely by taking the perilous Atlantic route, mainly to the Spanish Canary Islands, aboard overcrowded and often dilapidated boats.

Thousands of people have died or disappeared trying to reach Europe in this way in recent years.

The recent strengthening of maritime controls in Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco has pushed the departures of pirogues to the Canary Islands southwards, from the coasts of Gambia, Guinea-Bissau or Guinea, further lengthening the duration of the crossings and increasing the risks for migrants.

Mauritania signed a partnership with the European Union in 2024 aimed in particular at strengthening border control and combating irregular immigration.

A budget of 210 million euros allocated by the European Union finances, in particular, border surveillance, strengthening of search and rescue capabilities at sea, the fight against trafficking networks, and development projects.