The authorities in Mauritania say the bodies of 16 people thought to be migrants have been found on the country's northern coast.

The discovery on the beaches of Lagouera comes a week after 13 corpses were found in boats in the same area, near the city of Nouadhibou.

This latest incident appears to have happened after their boat hit some rocks.

Recently there has been a sharp increase in the number of people setting off from neighbouring Senegal in a bid to reach Spain's Canary Islands.

Since January more than 23,000 people have arrived there by boat.