- A boat carrying around a hundred people capsizes near Mbour.
- 32 survivors were reported, with others fleeing before rescuers arrived.
- President Faye offers his condolences and the search for survivors continues.
At least 12 people died Wednesday after a boat full of migrants seeking to reach Europe sank off the coast of Senegal, security sources said.
This coastal West African country is one of the main departure points for thousands of Africans who have for years taken the perilous Atlantic route to reach Europe, mainly via the Spanish Canary Islands, aboard overcrowded and often dilapidated boats.
The latest shipwreck occurred in the waters off the town of Mbour when a boat carrying around a hundred people capsized, a security source said. AFP under condition of anonymity.
“Twelve bodies were found,” said the source.
A second security source confirmed the toll of AFP.
“There were 32 survivors. The others probably fled” before help arrived, a source said. AFP.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in a post on social media on Wednesday.
“We share their grief and pain as the search continues for possible survivors,” he said.
On Tuesday, police intercepted 123 migrants aboard a boat in the Thiès region of Senegal.
