Not less than 26 folks have died after a ship carrying migrants capsized off Senegal’s coast.
Authorities say greater than 100 folks had been on board the wood fishing vessel when it sank simply 4km (2.5 miles) into its journey.
Distraught relations and pals have gathered alongside the seaside, anxiously ready for information of their family members.
Up to now, 4 folks have been rescued and search efforts are nonetheless beneath means.
The boat had departed from Mbour, about 80km south of the capital metropolis Dakar, sure for Spain’s Canary Islands, that are off the coast of West Africa.
In recent times, the variety of migrants leaving West Africa by Senegal has surged.
Principally younger males – fleeing battle, poverty, and unemployment – try the harmful Atlantic path to the Spanish Islands, with practically 30,000 arrivals recorded this yr.
Spain is without doubt one of the European nations that takes in essentially the most migrants, and the Mediterranean Sea route stays the preferred.
However a rising variety of West African migrants are selecting to journey by way of the Atlantic Ocean to the Canary Islands as an alternative.
Regardless of the hazards, it entails only one step, somewhat than needing to cross each the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean.
The surge in migrants making an attempt the crossing prompted Spain’s prime minister to go to three West African nations final month – Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia – for disaster talks with leaders.
Earlier this yr, a $227m deal was made between the EU and Mauritania to bolster border safety. Spain was a key accomplice within the talks in Mauritania that had led to it.
