Over 20 dead, Scores Missing In Shipwreck Off Senegal

Afimag.com –

More than 20 people have been confirmed dead, while some others are still missing in a migrant Shipwreck along Senegalese coast on February 28, 2024.

The a Europe-bound boat from the sea off northern Senegal loaded with migrants sank, leading to the death of the migrants as more than 20 bodies have been recovered.

Saint-Louis regional governor, Alioune Badara Samb, expressed fear, saying that, 20 persons have been saved while others are still missing.

He said, “Since the afternoon, we have been witnessing lifeless bodies wash up,” adding that with local rescuers and the navy searching for survivors after nightfall.

Badara Samb did not disclose the accurate number of passengers that boarded the vessel while a survivor told AFP that they were hundreds in number.

Meanwhile, Mamady Dianfo, a survivor from Casamance in the far south of the country, said there were about 300 passengers when the boat left Senegal a week ago.

According to Dianfo, the boat captain said he was lost and could no longer continue the journey upon their arrival at Morocco.

“We asked him to take us back to Senegal,” he added, saying the accident happened in the notoriously dangerous waters off Saint-Louis.

Senegal’s coasts are an increasingly common departure point for African migrants heading to the Spanish Canary Islands, their port of entry into Europe.

According to EU border agency Frontex, Senegal and Morocco are the most common nationalities of migrants arriving on the Atlantic archipelago.

It could be recalled that in 2023, the number of migrants reaching the Canaries tripled to almost 40,000.