At least 21 people have died and one has managed to survive in Senegal after the shipwreck of a pirogue with migrants on board that occurred off the coast of the northwestern department of Kébémer, the country's Interior Ministry reported this Sunday.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry expressed its "deep shock and sadness" following the sinking of a precarious vessel that "was carrying people attempting to migrate irregularly off the coast of Kébémer."
"At dusk on November 7, 2026, the provisional toll records 21 lifeless bodies and one survivor," the official note specified.
"The competent state services are mobilized to continue search efforts, provide assistance to possible survivors, and offer support to families," the Ministry stressed.
The Senegalese government reaffirmed its commitment to "combat people trafficking networks, particularly through reinforced cooperation with neighboring countries," and called for "vigilance against the dangers of irregular migration."
According to a security forces source cited by the Senegalese Press Agency (APS, public), about twenty lifeless bodies were found this Saturday afternoon on Lompoul beach, in the department of Kébémer.
The discovery, which mobilized elements of the Gendarmerie and the fire department for victim search and rescue operations, occurred one day after the shipwreck of the pirogue became known.
"The exact circumstances of the shipwreck, as well as the number of people on board the vessel, remain unknown for the moment," APS added.
Although the authorities did not specify the destination of the vessel, Senegal is a transit and origin country for migrants who arrive irregularly in the Canary Islands.
More than 1,300 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands this Saturday and Sunday in ten precarious boats, according to Maritime Rescue.
The Spanish Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, urged the Government of Senegal this Friday to "strengthen migration management" in the face of the increase in arrivals to the Canary Islands registered in recent weeks, and called for a "joint solution" to the "complex situation."
Grande-Marlaska conveyed that message in Dakar to his Senegalese counterpart, Mouhmamadou Makhtar Cissé, during a visit to Senegal to strengthen bilateral cooperation on security and the fight against mafias operating on the migration route to the Canary Islands.
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