OMM Newsroom
At least 34 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank off Senegal’s coast, the Senegalese Press Agency (APS) reported, citing an official source. Senegal’s Interior Ministry said one person had been rescued, but the number of people still missing was not yet known.
The small wooden boat capsized between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis as it travelled towards Spain’s Canary Islands.
Saliou Diouf, founder of Senegalese migrant aid group Boza Fii, told AFP that all the bodies recovered so far were Senegalese. The nationalities of the other people on board had not been established as search operations continued.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed condolences to the victims’ families and urged Senegalese people not to risk their lives on dangerous sea crossings. In a statement posted on “X”, he pledged to intensify efforts to dismantle the networks organising the journeys.
“We will relentlessly continue the fight against those who organise these crossings and the work that gives our young people reasons to hope here,” he said.
Other boats and migrant arrivals
Senegalese authorities said they intercepted another boat on Friday carrying 142 migrants attempting to reach Spain. Those on board included 23 women, two babies and two other children. Police said the group comprised nationals of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria.
On Saturday, a state of emergency was declared on the Spanish island of El Hierro following a surge in migrant arrivals. More than 3,300 people have reached the island in about 30 boats since the beginning of November, according to local authorities.
Risks on the Atlantic route
The sinking comes amid renewed concern about the dangers faced by migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea. Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders recorded 635 deaths on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands between January and May 2026, the highest toll among the routes it monitors.
Walking Borders estimates that about 21 people died for every 100 who reached the Canary Islands during the period it monitored.
The islands have become a major entry point into Europe for migrants and refugees making the dangerous Atlantic crossing from West Africa. The route has gained prominence amid tighter controls and increased cooperation between European countries and North African states, which may have diverted some journeys away from the central Mediterranean.
Limited employment opportunities, family pressures and established migration networks are among the factors driving people to leave Senegal, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). For many young people, the prospect of finding work and earning more abroad remains a powerful incentive, despite the risks of crossing the Atlantic in overcrowded boats.
Nearly one in four young people in Senegal was unemployed in the second quarter of 2026, according to the country’s statistics agency. The figure highlights the challenge facing Faye’s government as it seeks to create jobs for a predominantly young population that overwhelmingly voted for him in the 2024 elections.
In a statement on Sunday, Senegal’s Interior Ministry said it would continue efforts to combat people-smuggling networks, including by strengthening cooperation with neighbouring countries.
