Eight migrants were found dead after a boat capsized off the coast of northern Senegal as it tried to reach Europe, the government said.
The remains of the migrants were carried to Saint-Louis, a fishing city in the north, where the fire department and navy rescued them and began a search for survivors, according to Senegalese Interior Minister Felix Abdoulaye Diome.
About 155 people were on board, according to Mourtalla Mbaye, the director of the mortuary in Saint-Louis, who also revealed to The Associated Press that several of the survivors were hurt and receiving medical attention in a military area in the city.
Six bodies, all of which were guys who drowned, were delivered to his mortuary. He claimed that it was unknown how many persons had survived and how many were remained missing.
The boat was located Wednesday night, just days after seven more people were discovered dead and 50 people were saved from another boat, also destined for Europe, off the coast of Saint-Louis. On the boat, at least 90 passengers are said to be missing.
Additionally, it follows a report by the Spanish humanitarian organiSation Walking Borders that three vessels leaving Senegal from two different cities in late June went missing about 300 people.
According to Walking Borders, the Atlantic migration route is one of the worst in the world, with approximately 800 deaths or missing persons reported in the first half of 2023.
With a record of more than 23,000 migrants coming in 2020, the Canary Islands have emerged as one of the primary destinations for foreigners trying to reach Spain in recent years. More than 7,000 migrants and refugees entered the Canaries in the first half of this year.
Fewer boats depart from Senegal; the majority leave from Morocco, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. However, the Spanish relief organisation reported that since June, at least 19 vessels from Senegal have arrived on the Canary Islands.