A boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania, killing at least 69 people with several missing.
As per BBC, seventeen people were rescued so far and the authorities are still searching for the remaining passengers who were traveling in the canoe toward Spain's Canary Islands.
The survivors explained that the vessel began its journey from The Gambia nearly a week before the disaster, carrying about 160 people.
This dangerous journey across the Atlantic Ocean has become more frequent path for African migrants attempting to reach Europe.
In the previous year, around 47,000 migrants successfully arrived at Spain's Canary Islands but according to the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, over 9,000 people tragically lost their lives while attempting this dangerous journey.
As per the outlet, Mauritanian coastguards told a Spanish news outlet that they were still searching in the sea about 60 km north of Nouakchott, the capital and the rescue teams were getting ready to dive underwater to examine the capsized boat.
Meanwhile, Helen Maleno from Caminando Fronteras urged the coastguard to continue the search efforts.
Reports suggested that this shipwreck was one of the most serious migrant disasters to happen during the summer.
