Play store
At least 35 people have died after a small boat carrying migrants capsized off the northwestern coast of Senegal, a West African country. Many others remain missing, while one person has been rescued alive.
The country’s emergency services department confirmed the death toll to French news agency AFP on Sunday (November 8).
Initially, Senegal’s Interior Ministry said 21 bodies had been recovered and one person rescued alive. It also warned that the death toll could change as the rescue operation continued.
Later on Sunday, Senegal’s state news agency APS reported that the death toll had risen to at least 34. Human rights organisation Action for Human Rights and Friendship (ADHA) also confirmed the figure.
By Sunday night, the emergency services department reported that the death toll had climbed to at least 35, with only one survivor rescued. Authorities said the casualty figures had been revised as the rescue operation progressed since Friday.
An official at Senegal’s Interior Ministry expressed fears that the death toll could rise further, saying, “Unfortunately, the number of deaths may increase.”
Media reports said the boat capsized on Saturday near the Lompoul dunes in the Kebemer area, between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis. However, Saliou Diouf, founder of Boza Fii, Senegal’s leading migrant support organisation, told AFP that the accident occurred on Friday.
The nationalities of those aboard the boat have yet to be confirmed. However, Diouf said all the bodies recovered on Saturday were identified as Senegalese nationals.
Meanwhile, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said in a Facebook post on Sunday that all state authorities and resources had been mobilised to search for the missing, provide medical care to the survivor and support the families of those killed.
