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At least 58 people, including women and children, were killed after a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized in the Atlantic Ocean off the West African nation of Mauritania, Al Jazeera reported, citing the UN's migration agency. 

The perilous sea passage from West Africa to Europe was once a major route for migrants seeking jobs and prosperity.

The sinking is one of the deadliest incidents since the mid-2000s when Spain stepped up patrols and fewer boats attempted the journey.

The boat carrying at least 150 people was low on fuel while approaching Mauritania before it capsised, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

It said 83 people swam to shore. The survivors were being helped by Mauritanian authorities in the northern city of Nouadhibou, IOM said.

Survivors said the boat left The Gambia on November 27.

IOM's Leonard Doyle said the vessel was unseaworthy and overcrowded when it overturned.

"It speaks really to the callousness of the smugglers who of course have made their money and disappeared into the wilderness. That's the problem here, people are being exploited, people are looking for a better life," Doyle told Al Jazeera.

An unknown number of injured were taken to hospital in Nouadhibou.

There was no immediate statement from authorities in The Gambia, a small West African nation from which many migrants set off in hopes of reaching Europe.