A boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Mauritania earlier this week, killing at least 49 people, with around 100 likely missing.

Axar.az, citing Al Arabiya, “One of our patrols was able to rescue 17 (people)”, a senior coastguard official told AFP.

“So far, 49 bodies have been recovered and buried, and the search is continuing.”

The accident occurred late on Tuesday night when the migrants saw the lights of a town off the coast of Mauritania some 80 kilometers north of Nouakchott and “moved to one side, causing it to capsize”, the official said.

According to a statement from the migrants, the boat had left The Gambia a week earlier with about 160 people on board, including Senegalese and Gambian nationals, the official added.

The local gendarmerie confirmed “49 bodies have already been recovered and buried in the presence of health and administrative authorities.”

Drownings are frequent during the perilous crossing between Africa and Europe, with strong ocean currents and ramshackle vessels making the long crossing dangerous.

At least 10,457 migrants died, for example, while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras.

Officials did not say where the migrants in Tuesday’s accident were headed.