The Senegalese Navy announced, on Tuesday, the death of at least 26 people after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Senegal.
Senegalese authorities fear that there will be more deaths.
The Senegalese Navy said it had recovered 26 bodies even after the boat sank, shortly after it set sail from the coastal town of Mbour last Sunday.
Expectations indicate that more than 200 people could be on board the fishing boat.
Despite the great risks, people from Senegal and other West African countries continue to make the 1,500-kilometre journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The Senegalese Navy reported that during the rescue operations, it intercepted two other boats carrying an additional 421 migrants off the coast, including 20 children.
The Senegalese Navy reported that over the past three months it has stopped more than 1,700 people who were on boats trying to leave Senegal.
According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, more than 19,000 migran
ts arrived in the Canary Islands from the West African coast between Guinea and Morocco in the first half of 2024, a number that is significantly higher than the first half of last year.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency