Death Toll in Senegal Migrant Boat Tragedy Rises to 39

Dakar: The death toll from a boat carrying migrants that sank off the coast of Senegal in West Africa has risen to 39. More bodies were recovered on Monday, taking the confirmed toll higher. Senegal’s Interior Ministry said on Sunday that only one person had been rescued alive so far. Rescue operations are continuing in the area. The number of people aboard the boat remains unknown.

The accident occurred off the coast of Kebemer, around 180 km north of the capital, Dakar. The boat had set off from Saint-Louis in northern Senegal, heading towards the Spanish coast. Authorities said the vessel was travelling along a route frequently used by Senegalese nationals seeking to migrate to European countries. Migrants attempt the journey in open wooden boats, crossing around 1,290 km of the Atlantic Ocean to reach Europe.

Local media reported that most of those who died were from the areas of Liona and Thieppe in the Kebemer region. The exact number of people on board has not been established.

A day earlier, Senegalese authorities intercepted 142 migrants attempting to reach Spain. They were from Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Nigeria.

Thousands of people have died in recent years while attempting to migrate by sea from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands. According to the migrant rights organisation Walking Borders, 635 people died during the first five months of 2026 alone. Rising unemployment and poverty amid a deepening economic crisis in Senegal are among the main reasons driving migration.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said at least 56 people had died in two migrant boat accidents off Senegal and Greece in recent days. Fourteen bodies were recovered from a boat found south of the Greek island of Crete.