At least 21 dead as small boat sinks off Senegal

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkMigrants queue to be registered after disembarking from a Spanish coastguard vessel at the port of La Restinga, on the island of El Hierro in Spain's Canary Islands, on November 6, 2026 [File: Jesus Cabrera/Reuters]By AFP and ReutersPublished On 8 Nov 20268 Nov 2026A small boat carrying migrants and refugees has sunk off northwestern Senegal, killing at least 21 people.The Senegalese Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that one person had been rescued in addition to the 21 bodies recovered.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Former Palestinian detainees at mercy of Israel amid perpetual detentionlist 2 of 3South Africa’s ANC suffers setback in local electionslist 3 of 3Russian strikes on Ukraine leave hundreds of thousands without electricityend of listThe ministry said the death toll was “provisional” as of late Saturday, adding that the search was still ongoing and the families of the victims were being helped.Media reports said the pirogue-type flat-bottomed boat capsized on Saturday off the Loumpoul dunes in the Kebemer department, between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis.Le Soleil newspaper said that most of the victims were from the Leona and Thieppe districts in the same department.Thousands ⁠of people have ⁠died in recent years attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa, including ‌635 in the first five months of this year, according to ‌migrant rights ‌group Walking BordersSpanish 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.