69 migrants killed as boat capsizes off Mauritania

A boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Mauritania earlier this week, killing at least 69 people, with around 100 likely missing, officials told AFP yesterday.

"One of our patrols was able to rescue 17 (people)", a senior coastguard official told AFP. "So far, 69 bodies have been recovered and buried, and the search is continuing."

The accident occurred late on Tuesday night when the migrants saw the lights of a town off the coast of Mauritania some 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Nouakchott and "moved to one side, causing it to capsize", the official said.

According to a statement from the migrants, the boat had left The Gambia a week earlier with about 160 people on board, including Senegalese and Gambian nationals, the official added. The local gendarmerie confirmed "69 bodies have already been recovered".