- A boat carrying about 100 people sinks near Mbour.
- 32 survivors were reported, others flee before rescuers arrive.
- President Faye offers her condolences and the search for survivors continues.
At least 12 people died on Wednesday after a boat full of migrants seeking to reach Europe sank off the coast of Senegal, security sources said.
The coastal West African country is one of the main departure points for thousands of Africans who for years have taken the dangerous Atlantic route to reach Europe, mainly through the Spanish Canary Islands, aboard overcrowded and often dilapidated ships.
The latest sinking occurred in waters off the city of Mbour, when a boat loaded with about 100 people capsized, a security source said. AFP on condition of anonymity.
“Twelve bodies were recovered,” the source said.
A second security source confirmed the toll to AFP.
“There were 32 survivors. The others probably fled” before rescue services arrived, a source said. AFP.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in a social media post on Wednesday.
“We share your grief and pain as the search for survivors continues,” he said.
On Tuesday, police intercepted 123 migrants aboard a boat in the Thiès region of Senegal.
