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The Senegalese interior ministry initially reported 21 bodies recovered along with a single survivor from the small wooden boat that capsized but the Senegalese Press Agency raised the toll to at least 34 with emergency services later telling AFP it stood at 35 as a provisional figure. Saliou Diouf founder of the migrant aid group Boza Fii told AFP that all bodies recovered so far belonged to Senegalese nationals while the nationalities of others aboard remained unclear. Emergency services added it was a provisional toll which has been changing since Friday as search teams continued to scour Atlantic waters for an indeterminate number of missing passengers.
The vessel capsized near the Loumpoul dunes in Kebemer department between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis according to the interior ministry which described the boat as a pirogue heading toward Spain’s Canary Islands. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and urged Senegalese nationals not to risk their lives on the dangerous sea crossings. The ministry reiterated its determination to combat people smuggling networks through strengthened cooperation with neighbouring countries.
Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders recorded 635 deaths on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands between January and May 2026 the highest toll among the routes it monitors. The organisation estimates that 21 out of every 100 people attempting to reach the islands by sea die during the crossing. This latest incident forms part of a pattern in which thousands have perished in recent years while trying to reach Europe from West Africa according to data compiled by humanitarian monitors.
International Organization for Migration figures show 3708 migrants reached the Canary Islands in the first six months of 2026 a decrease of 67 percent from the same period in 2025 yet 168 migrants died or disappeared in 59 failed boats during that time. The IOM has noted that intensified border monitoring has shifted departures further south along the West African coast making journeys longer and more dangerous. Many shipwrecks go unreported meaning the true death toll is likely higher the organisation has warned.
On the same Friday Senegalese authorities intercepted another boat carrying 142 migrants bound for Spain the interior ministry reported. Those aboard included 23 women two babies and two other children from Senegal Gambia Guinea-Bissau Guinea and Nigeria according to police. The group was stopped as officials worked to disrupt smuggling operations that continue to exploit migrants seeking better opportunities abroad.
Authorities on the Canary Island of El Hierro declared an emergency after more than 3300 people arrived on around 30 boats since the start of November local officials told Spanish television. Alpidio Armas head of the El Hierro regional council expressed concern over the sharp increase in arrivals. Stepped-up naval patrols off Senegal Mauritania and Morocco have pushed smuggling networks to launch from further south extending the duration and risks of the Atlantic voyage according to regional assessments.
