Migrant boat rescues off Mayotte and Mauritania

French maritime police rescued eleven Comorian migrants after their kwassa‑kwassa capsized about three kilometres off Koungou, Mayotte. The boat was found taking on water, and the crew abandoned the vessel, leaving the passengers stranded. All eleven people were brought aboard the police vessel and taken to safety, preventing a likely fatal maritime accident on the perilous Comoros‑Mayotte route.

Mauritanian coast guard personnel saved 193 irregular migrants from a small boat near the fishing market of Nouakchott. The rescued group, mostly Gambians with a few Senegalese and others from Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Benin, included one woman who died aboard and a man who required urgent medical evacuation. The authorities provided immediate humanitarian assistance and began legal and administrative procedures, reiterating their commitment to maritime security and the fight against illegal migration.