A migrant boat sank off northwestern Senegal, killing at least 34 people. One person was rescued and an indeterminate number remain missing.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
A small boat carrying migrants sank off northwestern Senegal, killing at least 34 people, according to the Senegalese Press Agency (APS). The Senegalese Interior Ministry said one person had been rescued and that the toll was provisional as search operations continued.
The boat capsized near Kebemer, about 180 kilometers north of Dakar, off the Loumpoul dunes in the Kebemer department, between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis. Media reports said the pirogue-type flat-bottom boat capsized on Saturday, but Saliou Diouf, founder of Senegalese migrant aid group Boza Fii, told AFP that the sinking occurred on Friday.
The nationalities of all the victims had not been confirmed as the search continued. Diouf said the bodies recovered so far were Senegalese.
Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed his condolences to the victims' families and urged Senegalese nationals not to risk their lives on the dangerous sea crossings. In a statement posted on X, he pledged to intensify efforts to dismantle the networks organising the journeys.
"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.
Senegal's interior ministry said it would continue efforts to combat people-smuggling networks, including by strengthening cooperation with neighbouring countries.
Senegalese authorities said they had intercepted another boat on Friday carrying 142 migrants attempting to reach Spain. Those on board included 23 women, two babies and two other children. Police said the group comprised nationals of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria.
Spanish authorities on the Canary Island of El Hierro declared an emergency on Saturday following a surge in migrant arrivals. More than 3,300 people have reached the island in about 30 boats since the beginning of November, according to local authorities.
Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders recorded 635 deaths on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands between January and May 2026, the highest toll among the routes it monitors. Walking Borders estimates that about 21 people died for every 100 who reached the Canary Islands during the period it monitored.
The sinking is the latest disaster on the Atlantic route from West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands, where thousands have died in recent years. The route has grown in prominence amid tighter controls and increased cooperation between European countries and North African states, which may have diverted some journeys away from the central Mediterranean.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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