At least 39 dead after migrant boat capsizes off Senegal

At least 39 people have died after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Senegal while traveling toward Spain, according to Euronews, the New York Post and the BBC. Rescue services recovered additional bodies on Monday following the disaster off northwestern Senegal. Euronews reported that only one survivor has been found so far, while the total number of people on board remains unknown. [1][2][4][5]

Outlets gave differing details on the day the vessel overturned. Euronews stated the wooden pirogue capsized on Friday, while the New York Post reported that the boat overturned on Sunday offshore from Kébémer. The vessel had originally departed from Saint-Louis in northern Senegal bound for Spain's Canary Islands, according to Euronews and the New York Post. [1][2]

Euronews reported that video footage showed the vessel's hull broken in two on a beach between Dakar and Saint-Louis near Lompoul. Saliou Diouf, founder of the Senegalese migrant aid group Boza Fii, told AFP that all the bodies recovered by Sunday evening were Senegalese citizens, according to the BBC. The BBC added that emergency teams searched a 15-mile stretch of coastline under difficult conditions caused by strong ocean currents. [1][4]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, initial reports from the interior ministry put the death toll at 21 after the pirogue encountered difficulty off Kébémer. The Atlantic route remains a key pathway for West African migrants trying to reach European territory. [2][12]