Five Mauritanians missing after coastal boat collision

Five Mauritanians missing after coastal boat collision

Five Mauritanians have disappeared after two fishing boats rammed into each other off the coast of the west African country, the Spanish maritime rescue service told AFP on Saturday.

Twenty-one people, including three Spaniards, were saved from the Atlantic waves after Friday's crash between the "Right Whale" and "Tafra 3" ships, a spokesman for the Spanish rescue agency said.

After the "Tafra 3" sank in the wake of the collision, five of its 26-strong crew went missing, the spokesman said, citing the Mauritanian authorities.

"There are five disappeared people of Mauritanian nationality; three Spanish citizens have been saved," the spokesman added.

According to Galicia region's government, two of the three Spaniards were captains on board the ship, while the third was an engineer.

In a statement, the Galician authorities expressed their "hopes" that the five people lost overboard would be found.