Nearly 150 refugees and migrants are feared dead or missing after a series of maritime disasters off the coast of Mauritania, the United Nations said on Tuesday, highlighting the deadly risks of the Atlantic migration route from West Africa to Europe.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said 144 people were feared dead or missing following three rescue and disembarkation operations conducted between July 14 and July 18. A total of 387 survivors were brought ashore in the Mauritanian port city of Nouadhibou, where humanitarian workers provided assistance and identified those in need of international protection.

The deadliest incident involved a boat that departed Bufaloto, The Gambia, bound for Spain. After drifting in the Atlantic for nearly 25 days, only 38 people survived, while 143 others were feared dead or missing. Among the survivors were two children who lost every member of their family during the voyage and are receiving treatment in hospital, according to UNHCR.

A separate rescue operation on July 14 also recorded one death, bringing the total number of people feared dead or missing to 144.

UNHCR said the Atlantic route to Spain's Canary Islands remains among the world's deadliest migration corridors because of the vast distances, unpredictable seas and overcrowded, unseaworthy boats that often spend weeks at sea before help arrives. Although arrivals in the Canary Islands had fallen 61% compared with the same period in 2025, to around 4,400 as of July 15, the agency said fatalities and disappearances at sea remain alarmingly high, with many boats vanishing far from shore without survivors or witnesses.

The latest disasters come as humanitarian agencies continue responding to arrivals along Mauritania's coastline. Since the start of 2026, 17 rescue and disembarkation operations in Nouadhibou and Nouakchott have brought 2,147 people safely ashore, underscoring that despite fewer crossings, the Atlantic remains one of the world's deadliest migration routes.