Migrant boat sinks off Senegal, killing at least 34 people, authorities say

A small boat carrying migrants sank off northwestern Senegal killing 34 people in the latest tragedy along the dangerous Atlantic Ocean route from Africa to Europe, the authorities said Sunday.

It was the latest disaster on a route where thousands have died in recent years trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands from West Africa.

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

Later Sunday however, the Senegalese Press Agency (APS) said the toll now stood at 34 at least, a figure confirmed by Action for Human Rights and Friendship (ADHA) in a statement to AFP.

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

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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, told AFP that "the sinking occurred on Friday".

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

"But the bodies recovered yesterday (Saturday) are Senegalese," he added.

Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye wrote on social media Sunday that "all state authorities and resources have been mobilised to locate those who have gone missing, provide care for the survivors and support families".

He also pledged to crack down on people organising the risky voyages.

“No one should set out with the sea as their only horizon. We will relentlessly continue the fight against those who organise these crossings and the work that gives our young people reasons to hope here,” he said.

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, according to police.

Senegal's interior ministry stressed "its determination to combat people smuggling networks, notably through strengthened cooperation with neighbouring countries" in a statement Sunday.

The country's interior minister would visit the region where the accident happened to meet families of the victims and express condolences on behalf of the state, it added.

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 November, El Hierro authorities said more than 3,300 people had arrived aboard around 30 boats.

Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco have stepped up maritime patrols around departure points for small boats, forcing them to head further south towards the coasts of Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea, which prolongs the duration of the already hazardous crossing.