At least 21 dead after migrant boat sinks off Senegal coast, government says

At least 21 people have ​died after a boat carrying ‌migrants sank off the Senegalese coast, the interior ministry said on Sunday.

Authorities ​had rescued one survivor ​and found 21 bodies as of ⁠Saturday evening, the ministry said ​in a statement on X

The ​accident occurred off Kebemer, a town about 180 km north of Dakar. Search and ​rescue operations were continuing as ​authorities looked for possible additional survivors

The boat ‌was ⁠carrying people seeking to migrate irregularly, the statement said. It did not say how many ​were on ​board

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 Borders.

The United Nations' International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says the dangerous Atlantic Route is a key pathway for West African migrants travelling to Europe.