DAKAR — A small boat carrying migrants sank off northwestern Senegal, killing at least 39 people in the latest tragedy along the dangerous Atlantic Ocean route from Africa to Europe, emergency services said on Monday.
The boat, which left Saint-Louis in northern Senegal and was headed to the Spanish coast, overturned over the weekend, offshore from the town of Kebemer, north of the capital Dakar.
The boat was following a well-traveled migration route for thousands of young Senegalese seeking better economic conditions.
They travel on uncovered wooden canoes for around 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) on the Atlantic Ocean to reach Europe. Young people face high unemployment and poverty as the country struggles with an economic crisis.
Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye offered condolences and vowed to clamp down on networks behind the dangerous crossings.
He wrote on Facebook on Sunday: "All state authorities and resources have been mobilized to locate those who have gone missing, provide care for the survivors and support families."
Senegalese authorities also said they had intercepted 142 migrants on Friday who were on a similar small boat aiming to reach Spain.
The group included 23 women, two babies and two other children, and were from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria, according to the police.
Senegal's interior ministry stressed "its determination to combat people-smuggling networks, notably through strengthened cooperation with neighboring countries" in a statement Sunday.
The country's interior minister would visit the region where the accident has occurred to meet families of the victims and express condolences on behalf of the state, it said.
Spanish authorities on the Canary Island of El Hierro declared an emergency on Saturday after a surge in migrant boat arrivals.
Since the start of November, El Hierro authorities said more than 3,300 people had arrived aboard around 30 boats.
AGENCIES-XINHUA
