Dakar (AFP) – At least twenty-one people died in the sinking of a migrant canoe off the coast of Kébémer, in the north-west of Senegal where, according to the authorities, the search for possible survivors continues.

Published on: 08/11/2026 - 1:26 p.m.

Thousands of people from West Africa, mostly young people, have been trying for years to reach Europe clandestinely by taking the Atlantic route, mainly towards the Spanish archipelago of the Canaries, aboard overloaded, often dilapidated boats.

“As of the evening of November 7, 2026, the provisional report shows 21 dead bodies and one survivor,” said the Senegalese Ministry of the Interior in a press release, without specifying the day of the sinking.

“The relevant State services are mobilized to continue the search, provide assistance to any survivors and support the families,” he added.

The Minister of the Interior must go to the scene on Monday to “show the compassion and solidarity of the State to the families of the victims and the affected populations,” according to the press release.

“The shipwreck happened on Friday,” Saliou Diouf, founder of “Boza Fii”, one of the main associations helping migrants in Senegal, told AFP.

According to the national daily Le Soleil, the tragedy took place off the coast of the town of Loumpoul, in the Louga region (Kébémer department), between Dakar and Saint-Louis.

“Most of the victims are said to come from the communes of Léona and Thiéppe”, in the same department, adds the daily.

“We do not know exactly if there are other nationalities because the search is continuing. But the bodies recovered yesterday (Saturday) are those of Senegalese,” said Saliou Diouf.

Smugglers in the crosshairs

Also on Saturday, the Senegalese gendarmerie announced that they had intercepted 142 illegal migrants off the coast of Dakar, including women and children, who were trying to reach Spain aboard a canoe.

The operation took place on Friday and was carried out "on the fringes of security coverage" of the Dakar Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the first ever Olympic event to take place on African soil.

Among those intercepted were 40 Senegalese including four women, 93 Gambians including 17 women, a national of Guinea-Bissau, two Guineans and two Nigerians, according to the gendarmerie.

The group also included two infants and two minor children, she adds.

To escape the conflict ravaging their country like in Mali, or the authoritarianism of juntas, or in search of a better future in the face of poverty and lack of opportunities in their countries, thousands of young West Africans have been trying for years to emigrate, particularly to Europe.

Thousands of people have died or disappeared trying to reach Europe in recent years.

At the end of October, the NGO Action for Human Rights and Friendship (ADHA) questioned Senegal about the persistence of "dangerous departures" towards Europe of migrants, including "nearly 1,000" West Africans who arrived in the Spanish Canaries on October 22 and 23.

“The government reaffirms its determination to combat smuggling networks, in particular through reinforced cooperation with neighboring countries,” underlined the Ministry of the Interior in its press release.

The recent strengthening of controls at sea by Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco has pushed back the departures of canoes for the Canaries towards the south, towards the coasts of Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, further extending the duration of dangerous crossings.

© 2026 AFP

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