Death Toll Rises to 39 After Migrant Boat Sinks Off Senegal Coast

OPA WIRE, Nov 10 (OPA) — The death toll from a migrant boat sinking off Lompoul, Senegal, rose to 39 on Monday after four more bodies were recovered from the water. The wooden pirogue had departed from Saint-Louis toward Spain's Canary Islands before capsizing on Friday.

Footage showed the vessel's hull broken in two on a beach between Dakar and Saint-Louis. Emergency services have searched a 25-kilometre stretch of the coastline for three days. Only one survivor has been reported, while the total number of passengers aboard remains unknown.

Most victims were young people from nearby communities. Regional governor Ndeye Nguenar Mbodj stated that over 20 victims have been identified and returned to their relatives. Authorities requested permission to bury four decomposed bodies locally as search operations continued.

The Atlantic migration route to the Canary Islands remains one of the world's most dangerous maritime passages. Overcrowded fishing boats undertake lengthy journeys through treacherous waters, while tighter coastal patrols have forced migrants to attempt increasingly hazardous crossings from West Africa.