Senegal migrant shipwreck death toll climbs to at least 26

Family members, friends and community members gather along the beach as they wait for search and rescue teams to find survivors and retrieve the dead after a pirogue carrying over a hundred migrants sunk the night before, in Mbour, on September 9, 2024. [AFP]

Senegal's navy said Tuesday that at least 26 people died after a migrant boat sank off the coast two days earlier, in the latest migration-linked tragedy to occur off West Africa.

In a post on X, the navy said it had recovered "17 lifeless bodies" on Tuesday, bringing the toll to 26 after nine were initially announced dead following the Sunday shipwreck off the western town of Mbour.

The search is ongoing, the navy said.

Many of the vessel's passengers remain missing.

Witnesses in Mbour said that dozens of people had boarded the boat, which capsized shortly after setting off from the shore.

Senegal's coasts are one of the main departure points for thousands of migrants heading to Europe.

The Atlantic route is particularly perilous due to the strong currents, with thousands of deaths and disappearances every year on overloaded, often unseaworthy boats.

Many would-be migrants set sail from the major fishing port of Mbour.

Former prime minister Aminata Toure, who was recently appointed high representative of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, expressed "solidarity" and "compassion" towards the victims' families in a post on X.

"We urge our young people to give up the idea of illegal immigration once and for all, and to consider their future here in Senegal, where opportunities exist as part of the major changes to come", she said.

Over 22,000 migrants have already landed in Spain's Canary Islands so far this year, more than double the number from the previous year.

During a three-day West African tour at the end of August, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez signed agreements with Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania to promote legal migration.

The accords establish a framework for regular entry into Spain based on labour needs.

The Gambian government late on Monday said it had learned of "unscrupulous elements or agencies involved in illegal recruitment of Gambians to work in Spain", operating outside the framework of the agreements.

"Members of the public are urged to refrain from dealing with these unauthorised and deceptive individuals, operating without the requisite government licences, which is in total violation of The Gambia labour laws," it said in a statement signed by government spokesman Ebrima G. Sankareh.

The Spanish embassy declined to comment.