More than 1,000 migrants were rescued in a single week after becoming stranded at sea while attempting the perilous Atlantic migration route from West Africa to Europe, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders.
The humanitarian organisation said 1,046 migrants were travelling aboard seven boats that had departed The Gambia and were bound for Spain’s Canary Islands when they encountered difficulties at sea.
The migrants were intercepted during the last week of August and subsequently brought to safety in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, as well as Rosso and Dakar in Senegal, MSF said in a statement issued Monday.
The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands has become one of the most dangerous migration corridors to Europe. Every year, thousands of people, many of them young, attempt the journey in overcrowded and poorly equipped boats, often facing harsh weather, rough seas, prolonged exposure and limited access to food and water.
Many migrants undertake the dangerous journey in search of better economic opportunities and to escape poverty and insecurity in their home countries. The decision to travel by sea is also linked to increasingly restrictive visa policies and tighter border controls across Europe, which have limited safer avenues for migration.
MSF said the rescued migrants arrived with serious health complications, including severe dehydration, unconsciousness, bone fractures, extreme exhaustion, and skin, gastrointestinal and respiratory infections.
The organisation also highlighted the severe psychological toll of the journey, noting that several survivors had witnessed the deaths of relatives or fellow travellers during the crossing.
Among those rescued were 134 women, including one pregnant woman, and 88 minors. Most of the migrants were from Senegal and The Gambia, while others came from Mali, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and several other countries.
MSF said many of the survivors also reported experiencing violence, both in their countries of origin and at different points along the migration route.
The latest rescue underscores the continuing dangers faced by migrants attempting the Atlantic crossing, where overcrowded and unseaworthy boats can leave passengers vulnerable to dehydration, illness, shipwreck and death long before they reach European shores
