Two victims of the tragic migrant boat accident off the coast of Mauritania have been named as Amie Dubois and Ya Jojo Bojang of Barra, North Bank Region.

About 58 Gambians mainly young people from Barra lost their lives on Wednesday when a boat heading to Canary Island in Spain capsized near the Mauritanian coastal city of Nouadhibou.

Women and children were reported to be among the dead.

The boat was reported to have been carrying 150 Gambian many migrants.

Laura Lungarotti, head of the International Organization for Migration, said on Twitter that more than 83 Gambian migrants survived the shipwreck.

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