At least 35 killed in migrant boat sinking off Senegal

A small boat carrying migrants sank off northwestern Senegal, killing at least 35 people in the latest tragedy along the dangerous Atlantic Ocean route from Africa to Europe, emergency services said on Sunday.

Along the route, thousands of people have died in the past few years trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from west Africa.

An initial statement from the Senegalese Ministry of the Interior and Public Security said 21 bodies and only one survivor had been recovered following the sinking, but that those numbers were provisional as the search continued.

The sun sets on a beach known as “the airport,” a departure point used by migrants trying to reach Europe through the Atlantic route in Mbour, Senegal, on March 10.

Photo: AFP

Later on Sunday, the Senegalese Press Agency (APS) said the toll was 34 at least, a figure confirmed by Action for Human Rights and Friendship in a statement.

An “indeterminate number” of people were reported missing, APS added.

The toll then rose further on Sunday night to at least 35 with one survivor, emergency services said.

“The toll will unfortunately rise,” An interior ministry source added.

Media reports said the pirogue-type flat-bottom boat capsized on Saturday off the Loumpoul dunes in Kebemer department, between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis.

However, Saliou Diouf, founder of Senegal’s main migrant aid association Boza Fii, said that the sinking occurred on Friday.

The nationalities of all the victims had not been confirmed as the search continues, he said.

“But the bodies recovered yesterday [Saturday] are Senegalese,” he added.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye wrote on Facebook on Sunday that “all state authorities and resources have been mobilized to locate those who have gone missing, provide care for the survivors and support families.”

Thousands of people from west Africa try each year to reach Europe on the perilous Atlantic route.

Senegalese authorities also said they had intercepted 142 migrants on Friday who were on a similar small boat aiming to reach Spain.

The group included 23 women, two babies and two other children, and were from Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria, police said.

Spanish authorities on the Canary Island of El Hierro declared an emergency on Saturday after a surge in migrant boat arrivals.

Since the start of this month, El Hierro authorities said more than 3,300 people had arrived aboard about 30 boats.