Dakar, Senegal
Reuters
At least 15 people drowned when a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Senegal’s capital Dakar on Monday, Senegal’s President Macky Sall said on Monday.
The incident occurred offshore from one of the country’s popular beaches in the Ouakam area in the early hours of Monday.
Locals remove fuel containers from the boat that ran aground off the coast of Ouakam, carrying migrants who attempted irregular immigration, Dakar, Senegal, on 24th July, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Ngouda Dione
“I express my deep sorrow following the death of around fifteen Senegalese people following the sinking of a pirogue [boat] off the coast of Dakar. My heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims,” Sall said on his Twitter account.
Babacar Diallo, an Ouakam fisherman who went down to the beach at dawn to prepare boats for the day’s catch, said he saw people trying to help with rescue efforts.
“There were at least 12 dead bodies on the shore. Two people came out alive,” Diallo said. Bodies were also being brought ashore hours later.
“They are still retrieving bodies, but the water is not clear. We indicated to them where they could find them. We live here, and in case of danger, we can tell them where to find the bodies. There are probably still more bodies,” Diallo added.
Alerted by local fishermen and the national navy, a contingent of firefighters and divers were still searching for bodies in the area on Monday afternoon.
Senegal has seen a surge in migrant boats attempting the Atlantic migration route to Spain’s Canary Islands. Although one of the deadliest routes, numerous accidents have failed to dissuade those seeking to make the journey.
Senegal’s navy said on 13th July that it had intercepted a boat with around 70 migrants risking the perilous journey, the third reported crossing this month as attempted crossings from West Africa pick up in the warmer summer months.
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Meanwhile, the bodies of five sub-Saharan migrants have been recovered in a desolate area near the border between Libya and Tunisia, Libya’s interior ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The ministry said the bodies were found during patrols near the border areas with Tunisia between Dahra and Tawilat Al-Rutba.
Dozens of sub-Saharan Africans are stranded near the Libyan border and say that the Tunisian authorities removed them to this border area from the city of Sfax earlier this month.
The Tunisian Government then moved them to shelters in two towns, but rights groups said that dozens are still stuck there in very difficult conditions, left thirsty and hungry in an unprecedented heatwave.
Tunisian president Kais Saied in February denounced undocumented sub-Saharan African immigration to his country, saying in comments criticized by rights groups that it was aimed at changing Tunisia’s demographic make-up.
– With Reuters Libya newsroom
