MBOUR: At least nine people died after their boat sank off the coast of Senegal, the navy said on Monday, in the latest migration-linked tragedy to occur off West Africa.

The pirogue, which was “involved in irregular emigration”, capsized on Sunday off the coast of the western town of Mbour, the navy said in a post on X.

The navy said it had launched a search involving three vessels and a Spanish maritime patrol aircraft. “Nine lifeless bodies were discovered and three survivors identified. An unknown number of people have been rescued by local fishermen”, it said, without giving the number of missing.

The search is ongoing along the coast. Onlookers and relatives of the victims gathered on the shore for news of the missing.

Senegal’s coasts are one of the main departure points for thousands of migrants heading to Europe. The Atlantic route is particularly perilous due to the strong currents, with thousands of deaths and disappearances every year on overloaded, often unseaworthy boats.

Over 22,000 migrants have already landed in Spain’s Canary Islands so far this year, more than double the number from the previous year. “It’s a real catastrophe that we’re currently experiencing, and unfortunately we’re going to continue to do so because young people are so determined to leave,” Mohamed Barro, a local councillor, said.

He said he lost his 38-year-old nephew, who was married with two children, in the shipwreck and had been waiting five hours to recover his body from the morgue at a local hospital.

During a three-day West African tour at the end of August, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez signed a new agreement with Senegal aimed at regularising migration.

The accord covers new economic sectors and includes training for Senegalese who settle in Spain.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024