The captain of a migrant boat that capsized off Senegal over the weekend has been arrested, with the death toll rising to 26. Cheikh Sall, the boat's owner and captain, surrendered on Monday, as confirmed by Amadou Diop, the district's prefect. The overturned boat had left Mbour, south of Dakar, on a journey toward Europe Sunday afternoon but capsized a few miles offshore.
West Africa has witnessed a surge in exiting migrants due to conflict, poverty, and lack of job opportunities, with many heading to Europe via the Canary Islands. The Spanish Interior Ministry reported that over 22,300 individuals have reached the Canary Islands this year, a 126% increase compared to the same period last year. In a recent 12-day operation, the Senegalese army arrested 453 migrants and smugglers, over half of whom were Senegalese.
The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands remains one of the deadliest migrant paths worldwide. While exact fatality numbers are unknown, the Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders estimates thousands have perished this year alone. Vessels often vanish in the Atlantic, occasionally drifting to the Caribbean or Latin America, only to be found with human remains. Last month, a boat carrying nearly 300 migrants from Gambia and Senegal capsized off Mauritania, resulting in over a dozen deaths and at least 150 missing persons. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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