SAINT-LOUIS, Senegal: At least 26 people were killed when a loaded ship capsized off the coast of northern Senegal, the governor of St. Louis County said Thursday.
Arione Badala Sambu said the bodies had been recovered since Wednesday, when a boat got stuck in a dangerous area on the north coast. He added 21 people have been rescued.
The St. Louis Estuary, where the Senegal River meets the Atlantic Ocean, is known for its strong currents and areas of thick mud.
Sambo did not say how many people were missing on the ship, but witnesses said there may have been more than 300 people on board.
He said it was difficult to say exactly how many people were involved because many of the survivors were able to reach the shore and were dispersed among the locals along the coast.
Mamadi Dianfo, a survivor from Casamance in the south, told media that more than 300 people were on board when the ship left Senegal a week ago.
Another survivor, Alpha Balde, estimates that more than 200 people were on board.
Dianfo said the ship reached the northern coast, but the captain said he was lost and unable to continue.
“We asked him to take us back to Senegal,” he said.
President Macky Sall Thursday expressed his “deep sadness” following the “tragic capsizing” in a message on X.
He said relevant authorities have been sent to the place to provide help and assistance.
Senegal’s shores have become a growing point of departure for Africans fleeing poverty and unemployment to the Canary Islands, Europe’s port of entry.
According to the EU border agency Frontex, Senegal and Morocco are the most common countries of origin for migrants arriving in Spain’s Atlantic islands.
Of the more than 6,600 migrants who died or went missing trying to reach Spain last year, the vast majority were lost on the perilous Atlantic crossing, according to the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras.
