140 drown after ship sank off Senegal

DAKAR, Senegal－A migrant shipwreck off Senegal has left at least 140 people dead, making it the deadliest so far this year, the International Organization for Migration confirmed on Thursday.

About 200 passengers set off in the vessel from the Senegalese town of Mbour on Oct 24, bound for Spain's Canary Islands.

But the boat soon caught fire and sank off Senegal's northwestern coast near Saint Louis. Fifty-nine passengers were saved, the IOM said.

The Senegalese government on Monday said the fire had begun among fuel drums.

The shipwreck comes as the number of boats trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands from Senegal's shores has "significantly increased in recent weeks," the United Nations' migration agency said, adding it was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy.

Last month, 14 boats attempted the voyage, and about one-quarter "were reported to have experienced an incident or shipwreck", the IOM said.

Senegal's shores were once a major departure point for those hoping to migrate to Europe.

The Canary Islands lie more than 100 kilometers from the coast of Africa at its closest point, and the passage is typically made in traditional wooden boats that are usually crammed.

Europe-bound migrants

The Atlantic route has been used more and more as the authorities clamped down on the other main migration route in West Africa, which goes up by road through the Sahara in Niger and Libya to the Mediterranean coast.

Those traveling by sea have been refused visas for European countries but take the risk of a perilous voyage for the chance to earn enough money to support their families back home.

"We call for unity between governments, partners and the international community to dismantle trafficking and smuggling networks," said Bakary Doumbia, the IOM's chief in Senegal.

At least 414 people have died on the Atlantic route in 2020, according to the IOM's Missing Migrants Project, which recorded 210 fatalities there in all of 2019.

Around 11,000 migrants have arrived on the Canary Islands this year, compared to 2,557 during the same period in 2019, although the total remains far below the peak of 2006 when there were 32,000 arrivals, the IOM said.

Agencies via Xinhua