Migrant boat sinking off Senegal kills 39, with one survivor rescued

A boat carrying migrants sank off Senegal's northwest coast, killing at least 21 people. The interior ministry said on Sunday, November 8, that authorities had recovered 21 bodies by Saturday evening and rescued only one survivor; the death toll remains provisional and search and rescue operations are continuing.

Accident off Kebemer, about 180 km north of Dakar

In a statement on X, the ministry said the accident occurred off Kebemer, a town about 180 km north of Dakar. The boat was carrying people seeking to migrate irregularly, the statement said, without saying how many people were on board. Authorities are continuing to search for possible additional survivors.

Hundreds have died this year on the Canary Islands route

Thousands of people have died in recent years attempting to reach Spain's Canary Islands from West Africa. According to the migrant rights group Walking Borders, 635 people died on the route in the first five months of this year alone.

Update, Sunday evening: death toll rises to 34, one survivor

Senegal's official news agency APS said on Sunday that the death toll from the migrant boat sinking had risen to 34, with only one survivor rescued; the human rights group Action for Human Rights and Friendship (ADHA) confirmed the same figure to AFP. Search and rescue operations are continuing and the total number of people on board is still unknown. Louga region governor Ndèye Ngénar Mbodj visited the sites on Sunday to coordinate identification and preservation of the bodies; President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said all state resources had been mobilised to search for the missing, care for survivors and support families, and the interior minister is due to visit the area on Monday to meet victims' families.

According to Le Soleil, most of the victims are believed to have come from the Léona and Tiep districts of Kébémer department. The boat capsized off the Loumpoul dunes; the day of the sinking is disputed, with some media reports saying Saturday while Saliou Diouf, founder of the migrant aid group Boza Fii, told AFP it happened on Friday. Authorities intercepted 142 migrants on a similar boat heading for Spain on Friday.

Update, November 8 evening: Death toll rises to at least 35; one survivor

Senegalese firefighters gave Agence France-Presse a revised provisional toll on Sunday evening of at least 35 dead and one survivor from the migrant boat that capsized off Kébémer. AFP's report, carried by TV5MONDE and updated at 22:47 on November 8, said the figure remains provisional; the total number of people aboard is still unknown and the search continues. The official news agency APS had earlier on Sunday cited an official source for 34 dead, while the Interior Ministry's first statement reported 21 bodies recovered and one person rescued as of Saturday evening.

Update, November 9: Death toll rises to 39; president vows crackdown on smuggling networks

Senegalese emergency services said on Monday, November 9, that rescuers had recovered more bodies, raising the death toll from the migrant boat sinking off Kébémer to 39, with only one survivor rescued; the figure remains provisional and the search continues. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye offered condolences to the victims' families and vowed to clamp down on the networks behind the dangerous crossings.