At least 34 dead as migrant boat sinks off Senegal's northwest coast

At least 34 people died after a small boat carrying migrants capsized off northwestern Senegal, the Senegalese Press Agency confirmed Sunday, with only one survivor recovered and an indeterminate number still missing.

The pirogue-type flat-bottom boat went down near the Loumpoul dunes in Kebemer department, between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis. The Senegalese interior ministry's initial statement put the death toll at 21 bodies recovered; the revised figure of 34 was later confirmed by Action for Human Rights and Friendship in a statement to AFP. Saliou Diouf, founder of migrant aid association Boza Fii, told AFP the sinking occurred on Friday, though media reports placed it on Saturday.

The nationalities of all victims had not been confirmed as the search continued. Diouf said bodies recovered on Saturday were Senegalese.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye wrote on social media that "all state authorities and resources have been mobilised to locate those who have gone missing, provide care for the survivors and support families." He also pledged to pursue those organising the crossings: "No one should set out with the sea as their only horizon. We will relentlessly continue the fight against those who organise these crossings and the work that gives our young people reasons to hope here."

Separately, Senegalese authorities said they intercepted 142 migrants on Friday aboard a similar boat heading for Spanish territory. The group included 23 women, two babies and two other children, nationals of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria.

On Spain's Canary Island of El Hierro, authorities declared an emergency on Saturday after more than 3,300 people arrived on around 30 boats since the start of November. The country's interior minister is set to visit the region where the accident happened to meet families of the victims and express condolences on behalf of the state, the interior ministry said.

Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco have stepped up maritime patrols at traditional departure points, pushing boats further south toward Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, prolonging an already perilous Atlantic crossing on which thousands have died in recent years.