The Senegalese navy has found at least 30 bodies on a boat that was discovered drifting approximately 70 kilometres off the coast of Dakar, the capital, as announced by the army on Monday.
According to a statement released on social media by the army, an investigation is currently underway to determine the origin of the vessel and verify the number of casualties.
Frequent tragedies occur along Senegal’s coastline as people attempt to reach Europe by boat.
Upon receiving a late-night alert about the incident on Sunday, a navy patrol towed the drifting pirogue, a long wooden fishing boat, to the port of Dakar, where it arrived around 06:00 am (GMT) on Monday, as stated in the announcement.
The statement further indicated that a team consisting of doctors, fire service personnel, and sanitation workers was ready to receive the convoy upon its arrival.
The army said, “The recovery, identification, and transfer operations are complicated.