Migrant Boat Capsizes En Route to Spain, 58 Dead: Reports

A Google Map shows the location of the northern Mauritanian city of Nouadhibou, marked with a red pin, on Africa's west coast. A boat carrying migrants from Gambia capsized off Nouadhibou on December 5, 2019, leaving scores dead. Google Maps

A United Nations official said Thursday that 58 people drowned off the coast of the West African nation of Mauritania in one of the deadliest disasters of 2019, as they attempted to travel toward Europe.

The boat that left The Gambia on Nov. 27 was carrying at least 150 people, including women and children, CBS News reported. The boat then was to head to the Canary Islands to refuel and acquire more food, said U.N. official Laura Lungarotti.