Migrant Boat Capsizes Off Senegal: Death Toll Rises to 39

The number of dead has risen to 39 after a migrant boat traveling from Saint-Louis in northern Senegal toward the Spanish coast capsized off Kébémer. Emergency services announced that new bodies were recovered on Monday.

The boat, which capsized on Sunday off the town of Kébémer north of Dakar, left only one passenger rescued alive. The Ministry of the Interior announced on Sunday that at least 21 people lost their lives, and rescue teams were searching for potential survivors. While the total number of people on board has not been officially disclosed, it is considered that many passengers are still missing.

It was stated that the boat was on a migration route used by thousands of young Senegalese in search of better economic conditions. Due to high unemployment and poverty in the country, young people attempt to reach Europe across approximately 800 miles of the Atlantic Ocean in open wooden canoes. Following the incident, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye published a message of condolence and emphasized that smuggling networks behind the dangerous journeys will be combated.