21 migrants dead after boat sinks off Senegal

At least 21 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Senegal on Saturday.

The boat sank off Kebemer, a town approximately 180 kilometres north of the capital, Dakar.

The deaths was announced by the Senegal’s Interior Ministry on Sunday.

By Saturday evening, authorities had recovered 21 bodies and rescued one survivor, the ministry said in a statement posted on X.

The ministry said the boat was carrying people attempting to migrate irregularly but did not specify how many passengers were on board.

Search and rescue operations were continuing as authorities looked for possible additional survivors.

Thousands of migrants have died in recent years attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa, one of the main migration routes towards Europe.