At least 30 decomposing bodies have been found on a boat off the coast of Senegal, military authorities say.
The navy was informed of a vessel that was adrift about 70 km (45 miles) from the capital Dakar, according to a military statement on X. They brought the wooden canoe, or pirogue, into port on Monday morning.
“Recovery, identification, and transfer operations are being made extremely delicate by the advanced state of decomposition of the bodies,” the statement said.
There has been a noticeable rise in the number of migrants departing from Senegal in an attempt to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, a perilous 1,500 km (950-mile) voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.
Fishermen recently discovered severely decomposed bodies believed to be migrants who had been adrift for several days.
Authorities are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the boat’s departure, its point of origin, and how many people were onboard.
In a similar tragedy, 14 bodies, thought to be Senegalese migrants, were found off the coast of the Dominican Republic in August.
In response to the increasing migrant deaths, Senegal’s government introduced a 10-year strategy in August aimed at curbing illegal migration. Recently, authorities have intercepted numerous migrant boats along the country’s coastline.
Despite the persistent loss of life, many young men are driven by unemployment, poverty, and conflict to risk the dangerous journey from West Africa to the Canary Islands.
Some Senegalese fishermen, struggling to make a living due to foreign trawlers in their waters, have turned to migration or lent their boats to human traffickers.
For many West African migrants, the route to the Canary Islands has become an increasingly popular alternative to crossing the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, though it remains extremely dangerous.
According to Frontex, the European border agency, the Atlantic route experienced a 161% increase in migrant crossings in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Around 40,000 migrants successfully reached the Canary Islands last year, while nearly 1,000 were reported dead or missing, though the true figure is expected to be significantly higher.