The Mauritanian authorities have said that the death toll from the migrant boat tragedy has risen to 63 after the coast guard found five more bodies.

Search and rescue operations continue off the coastal city of Nouadhibou.

The boat which was carrying 150 Gambian and Senegalese migrants, including children, was heading to Spain. It capsized on Wednesday off the coast of Mauritania. 

The U.N. migration agency said the boat was diverted toward Mauritania as fuel and food ran low after a week in the Atlantic Ocean. 

83 survivors, including 10 children, were rescued as they swam through rough seas to the Mauritanian shores. 

This tragedy is the single biggest loss of Gambian lives since the illegal migration route to Europe started in 2012.