At least 35 killed in migrant boat sinking off Senegal

DAKAR

At least 35 dead and one survivor after migrant boat sinks off Senegal. (AFP File Photo)

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 told AFP on Nov. 8.

Along this route thousands of people 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 on Nov. 8 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.

The toll then rose further on Nov. 8 night to at least 35 with one survivor, according to the emergency services. "It's a provisional toll which has been changing since Friday [Nov. 6]."

An interior ministry source added: "The toll will unfortunately rise."

Media reports said the pirogue-type flat-bottom boat capsized on Nov. 7 off the Loumpoul dunes in the 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 Nov. 6.

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

"But the bodies recovered yesterday [Nov. 7] are Senegalese," he added.

Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye wrote on Facebook on Nov. 8: "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 Nov. 6 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 neighboring countries" in a statement on Nov. 8.

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 Nov. 7 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.