At least 62 people, including children, drown while 83 others swam ashore after the overcrowded boat capsized.
At least 62 people, including children, were killed after a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized in the Atlantic Ocean off the West African nation of Mauritania, the UN’s migration agency said.
The perilous sea passage from West Africa to Europe was once a major route for migrants seeking jobs and prosperity.
The sinking is one of the deadliest incidents since the mid-2000s when Spain stepped up patrols and fewer boats attempted the journey.
The boat carrying at least 150 people ran out of fuel and was stranded for days when approaching Mauritania before it capsised.
Some 83 people swam to shore. The survivors were being helped by Mauritanian authorities in the northern city of Nouadhibou, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
IOM initially put the death toll at 58, but confirmed four more bodies were later found.
Survivors said the vessel left The Gambia on November 27. IOM’s Leonard Doyle said the boat was unseaworthy and overcrowded when it overturned.
“It speaks really to the callousness of the smugglers who of course have made their money and disappeared into the wilderness. That’s the problem here, people are being exploited, people are looking for a better life,” Doyle told Al Jazeera.
An unknown number of injured were taken to hospital in Nouadhibou. There was no immediate statement from authorities in The Gambia, a small West African nation from which many migrants set off in hopes of reaching Europe.
