At least 70 people have drowned off the coast of Mauritania, in northwest Africa, and more than 60 others are missing after a boat capsized, officials said on Friday.

Sixteen people were rescued, five of them from Gambia, that country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement confirming the episode. The capsizing, which occurred early Wednesday, was one of the worst this year in a region where such shipwrecks have become common.

Most of those aboard were from Gambia and Senegal, and they were thought to have set off from Sami Koto, a fishing village in Gambia. The recovered bodies were promptly buried, the statement said.

“Tragically, based on the number of survivors and the vessel’s estimated passenger count, it is believed that over 100 people may have perished in the incident,” it read.

Thousands of Africans risk their lives traveling on small boats that take the dangerous and illegal route to Europe, braving stormy seas and the significant risks of capsizing.

The most deadly way is the Atlantic route — which follows the West African coast up past Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania and Western Sahara, aiming for the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain.