At least 15 killed as migrant boat sinks off Mauritania

Fifteen people have been killed and more than 150 are missing after a boat carrying 300 passengers from Gambia capsized near Mauritania's capital Nouakchott, the International Organisation for Migration says.

The Atlantic migration route from the coast of west Africa to the Canary Islands, typically used by African migrants trying to reach Spain, is one of the world's deadliest.

The northern hemisphere summer is its busiest period.

In a statement on Wednesday, the IOM said Mauritanian coastguards rescued 120 people and that 10 of them were urgently referred to hospitals while efforts to locate the missing continued.