Lompoul shipwreck toll reaches 35 dead
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on SeneNews
The sinking of a migrant boat off Lompoul has left 35 dead, according to the toll reported after search operations. Senegalese authorities inspected the site and emergency services are continuing to manage the situation, according to SeneNews.
The death toll from the sinking of a boat carrying migrants off Lompoul, in north-western Senegal, has reached 35 after more bodies were recovered. Thirty-five bodies had been recovered at the time of going to press, according to SeneNews.
Local authorities visited the site on Sunday to take stock of the health situation and the condition of the morgue after the capsizing. The deputy chief medical officer said the health situation was stable, no serious cases had been recorded and the number of patients had been declining since 2 November. Samples were taken to determine the origin of an infection, with the possibility of water contamination ruled out, according to SeneNews.
The preservation of the bodies and the administrative formalities required for their return to families are posing difficulties, according to authorities cited by SeneNews. The toll had previously reached 21 deaths on 7 November, before around 20 bodies were discovered on Lompoul beach on 8 November. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye had then mobilised the authorities and state resources to search for the missing, care for survivors and support families.
