A boat transporting migrants capsizes off the coast of Mauritania, leaving scores dead and over 100 injured

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday that a boat carrying migrants had capsized close to Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, leaving at least 15 people dead and over 195 missing.

Since the boat overturned on Monday, the Mauritius coastguard has rescued 120 individuals, including separated and unaccompanied minors, according to IOM.

The West and Central Africa office of IOM said on X that it was "deeply saddened by the death of 15 migrants and the estimated disappearance at sea of over 195 people after a boat capsized in Nouakchott." 

 Search operations are in progress to find the missing.

Seven days ago, the passengers stepped onto the boat in Gambia. The IOM did not reveal the victims' nationalities or the cause of the boat's capsize. For more information, CNN has contacted the UN organization. 

The IOM said in a statement that the tragedy occurred at a time when migration along the so-called "West Atlantic Route" was on the rise. According to the report, almost 19,700 migrants have entered the Canary Islands illegally so far in 2024 alone, compared to just 7,590 during the same period in 2023. 
 It claimed that since 2014, more than 4,500 deaths and disappearances have been reported on this route by its Missing Migrants Project, with over 1,950 deaths last year ranking as the second-deadliest on record.

According to the report, since June 2024, at least 190 migrants have died and 6,130 migrants who were still alive have disembarked in Mauritania from more than 76 boats.