No less than 26 individuals have died after a ship carrying migrants capsized off Senegal’s coast.
Authorities say greater than 100 individuals have been on board the picket fishing vessel when it sank simply 4km (2.5 miles) into its journey.
Distraught family and associates have gathered alongside the seashore, anxiously ready for information of their family members.
To date, 4 individuals have been rescued and search efforts are nonetheless below means.
The boat had departed from Mbour, about 80km south of the capital metropolis Dakar, sure for Spain’s Canary Islands, that are off the coast of West Africa.
In recent times, the variety of migrants leaving West Africa by means of Senegal has surged.
Largely younger males – fleeing battle, poverty, and unemployment – are trying the harmful Atlantic path to the Spanish Islands, with almost 30,000 arrivals recorded this yr.
Spain is among the European nations that takes in probably the most migrants, and the Mediterranean Sea route stays the most well-liked.
However a rising variety of West African migrants are selecting to journey through the Atlantic Ocean to the Canary Islands as an alternative.
Regardless of the risks, it includes only one step, relatively than needing to cross each the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean.
The surge in migrants making an attempt the crossing prompted Spain’s prime minister to go to three West African nations final month – Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia – for disaster talks with leaders.
Earlier this yr, a $227m deal was made between the EU and Mauritania to bolster border safety. Spain was a key companion within the talks in Mauritania that had led to it.
