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GENEVA, July 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The United Nations said Tuesday that 144 refugees and migrants were reported dead or missing after "tragic maritime incidents" off the coast of Mauritania last week.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said that overall, three rescue and disembarkation operations were conducted between July 14 and 18 in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, bringing 387 people of various sub-Saharan nationalities safely ashore.

But 143 people were reported dead or missing on one of the boats, which had departed from Bufalo in Gambia headed for Spain and was rescued on Saturday after nearly 25 days stranded at sea, the agency said.

Only 38 people were brought safely ashore from that vessel, it said, adding that two Senegalese children who had lost all of their family members during the journey were among the survivors.

A second rescue operation that day saw 179 people brought to safety in Nouadhibou, while a third mission that took place on July 14 had rescued 170 people from a vessel where one person had died.

"The refugees and migrants were reported dead or missing after attempting the perilous sea journey from West Africa towards Europe, highlighting the continued human cost of these dangerous routes," UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva.

Despite rescue efforts, "the Atlantic route from West Africa towards the Canary Islands remains one of the world's deadliest mixed movement corridors due to long distances, unpredictable ocean conditions, unseaworthy overcrowded boats and limited access to timely rescue".

Arrivals to Europe on all the major routes have dropped significantly this year compared to last, but UNHCR stressed that deaths and disappearances at sea continued at "alarming levels, with many incidents occurring far from public attention and often resulting in entire boats vanishing".

While arrival numbers to the Canary Islands had dropped by 61 percent compared to 2025, Saltmarsh pointed out that the Spanish archipelago had still seen 4,400 arrivals as of July 15.

The latest incidents, he said, "highlight the persistent risks faced by refugees and migrants attempting to reach Europe, many of whom are embarking over 2,000 kilometres away from their intended destination".

So far in 2026, UNHCR said that 17 disembarkations had been recorded in Nouadhibou and Nouakchott, with a total of 2,147 individuals rescued.

The latest rescues in Mauritania "demonstrate that concerted efforts need to be made to address the root causes driving refugees and migrants to take these perilous journeys", Saltmarsh said.