89 migrants found dead at sea off Mauritania: media

NOUAKCHOTT: Mauritanian coast guards recovered the bodies of 89 illegal migrants near N’Diago, southwestern Mauritania, local media reported Thursday.

The migrants were aboard a large traditional fishing boat that stranded off the Atlantic Ocean, four kilometers from the town of N’Diago, the Mauritanian News Agency reported.

Nine people, including a five-year-old girl, were rescued by the Mauritanian coast guard, the report said.

The boat, which left the Senegalese-Gambia border six days ago towards Europe, had 170 migrants on board, the report quoted survivors as saying.

Photo: Felipe Dana/AP

-Xinhua