At least 35 people have died after a small boat carrying migrants sank off the north-western coast of Senegal, marking the latest tragedy along the hazardous Atlantic route from West Africa to Europe.
Emergency services confirmed late on Sunday that 35 bodies and one survivor had been recovered from the water. The death toll remains provisional as search and rescue operations continue.
Senegal’s Interior Ministry initially reported 21 deaths. The Senegalese Press Agency (APS) and rights group Action for Human Rights and Friendship (ADHA) later confirmed that the toll had risen to 34 before reaching 35, reports AFP.
An unknown number of people remain missing. An Interior Ministry source warned that the death toll could rise further.
Media reports said the pirogue, a traditional flat-bottomed boat, capsized on Saturday off the Loumpoul dunes in the Kebemer department, between the capital, Dakar, and the northern city of Saint-Louis.
However, Saliou Diouf, founder of Senegal’s leading migrant assistance association Boza Fii, told AFP that the boat sank on Friday.
Diouf said the nationalities of all passengers had yet to be established as search operations continued. However, those whose bodies were recovered on Saturday were identified as Senegalese citizens.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said all state authorities and resources had been mobilised to locate missing people, provide medical care to the survivor and support the affected families.
The country’s interior minister is scheduled to visit the affected region to meet the victims’ relatives and convey the state’s condolences.
The Interior Ministry also reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling human smuggling networks through stronger co-operation with neighbouring countries.
In a separate operation on Friday, Senegalese security forces intercepted another small boat carrying 142 migrants bound for Europe and heading towards Spain.
According to police, the group included 23 women, two infants and two other children. The passengers were from Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria.
The latest tragedy comes amid increased maritime security measures, with Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco stepping up patrols around common departure points.
The tighter enforcement has pushed migrant boats to launch further south, from the coasts of Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, making an already dangerous sea journey considerably longer.
The Atlantic crossing remains one of the deadliest migration routes to Europe, claiming thousands of lives in recent years.
On Saturday, authorities on the Spanish Canary Island of El Hierro declared a state of emergency following a sharp increase in migrant arrivals.
Officials on the island said more than 3,300 migrants had arrived aboard around 30 boats since the beginning of November.
