The boat carrying 300 people had left The Gambia and capsized near Nouakchott, according to UN migration agency.

At least 15 people have died and more than 150 are missing after a boat carrying 300 passengers capsized near Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

“Approximately 300 people boarded a pirogue in The Gambia and spent seven days at sea before the boat capsized near Nouakchott on July 22, 2024,” the IOM said in a statement on Wednesday.

The United Nations migration agency said 120 people had been rescued by the Mauritanian Coast Guard, while efforts continued to locate the missing individuals.

“Among the survivors, 10 people were urgently referred to hospitals for medical care, and four unaccompanied and separated children were identified,” the IOM said.

Ibba Sarr, a fishmonger at a waterside fish market in Nouakchott, said that strong winds in the past two days had moved the bodies closer to the shore and he saw around 30 bodies being collected from the beach.

“Surely other lifeless bodies will be discovered in the next two days,” Sarr told the news agency Reuters.

The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands, typically used by African people seeking asylum or better work opportunities in Europe, is one of the world’s deadliest. Summer is its busiest period.

More than 19,700 people reached the Canary Islands using the Atlantic route between January 1 and July 15, 2024 representing a 160 percent increase compared to the same period last year, the IOM said.

But nearly 5,000 people have also died at sea in the first five months of 2024 trying to reach the Spanish archipelago, according to migration rights group Walking Borders.

Earlier this year, the European Union promised Mauritania financial support worth 210 million euros ($229m) to tackle migration and provide humanitarian aid.

But according to rights groups and migration analysts, the 27-member bloc’s policy of externalising migration management through such deals is unlikely to deter people who are fleeing conflicts and economic instability from trying to enter Europe and seek asylum.