Senegalese authorities reported the location off their coast of two boats in which they were travelling more than 420 migrants, including 20 childrenThe pirogues were intercepted just one day after a boat with around 200 people on board sank, leaving at least 26 dead and dozens missing.
The Senegalese Navy stated that the patrol boat “Niani” intercepted “two pirogues” carrying 421 “candidates for irregular emigration, including 20 children“, without there being any further details on this subject for the moment.
A few hours earlier, he had estimated at nine the number of bodies recovered off the coast of the city of Mbour after the aforementioned shipwreck, during which search teams managed to recover three people alive, who have already been transferred to hospital.
The sunken ship is said to have started its journey, with the Canary Islands as a possible destination, on Sunday afternoon. The Spanish Civil Guard has deployed an aircraft to an area to carry out security tasks. aerial surveillance in the area, while a patrol boat joined the work of the Senegalese National Navy to support the operations.
Travel between the coasts of Senegal and the Canary Islands is frequent, despite the fact that the Atlantic route, with strong currents and waves It is considered one of the most dangerous routes to Europe, although 2023 saw an increase in the number of movements.
According to data published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on its website, nearly 4,800 people died or went missing between 2014 and 2024 while trying to complete the journey between West Africa and the Canary Islands.
