47 migrants found dead on Mauritanian coast

Forty-seven migrants were found dead on August 16 off the coast of Nouadhibou, northwest Mauritania, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced in a joint statement on Thursday.

The boat carrying 54 migrants, including three children, left on August 3 from North Africa's Atlantic coast for the Canary Islands. Two days after, the vehicle drifted on the ocean due to engine failure, leaving passengers stranded without food or water for almost two weeks.

Only seven people were still alive then it was found by coast guards earlier this week.