Senegal migrant shipwreck kills 39, Dakar targets smugglers
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Africanews
The sinking of a pirogue off the Louga region has killed at least 39 people, according to the authorities, near the village of Thieppe. The vessel was trying to reach the Canary Islands, and Interior Minister Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé calls for prosecuting the smugglers responsible for these crossings.
At least 39 people have died in the sinking of a pirogue off the Louga region in north-west Senegal, according to the authorities quoted by Africanews. The vessel was trying to reach the Canary Islands, in Spain, by the Atlantic sea route.
The pirogue was found broken in two on the coast, near the village of Thieppe. The victims are reportedly mainly from the villages of Thieppe and Potou. Rescuers recovered several bodies, some in an advanced state of decomposition. The toll published on 9 November stood at 35 dead in a shipwreck in the same region.
Senegal’s Interior Minister, Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, condemned the smuggling networks, which he describes as "slave traders of modern times". "Leaving is an option, but dying at sea must not be one," he said, calling for those responsible for these crossings to be prosecuted. Dakar wants to strengthen its cooperation with countries in the sub-region, as migration routes shift towards other neighbouring countries. Since the start of November, more than 3,300 migrants have arrived in El Hierro, in the Canaries, and local authorities have declared a state of emergency.
