DHAKA, Sept 9 (Askume) – A boat capsized in Senegal over the weekend, killing at least six people, a spokesman for the West African country’s armed forces said on Monday.
State broadcaster Radio and Television Senegal (RTS) said late Sunday that the vessel, a narrow wooden fishing boat known as a canoe, was carrying about 100 migrants from the city of Mbour and had traveled only 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) before it capsized.
RTS said four people were rescued, but several were still missing.
An armed forces spokesman told Askume the navy had sent an aircraft and two ships to look for the dead and survivors and the search would continue on Monday.
Sailing from the coast of West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands is a popular migration route.
The route has seen a 154% increase this year , according to the EU border agency Frontex, with 21,620 people arriving in the Canary Islands in the first seven months.
Spain, which has police in the area, said up to 150,000 migrants from Africa could make the dangerous border crossing in the coming months.
The French Navy, which is also operating in Senegal, intercepted two canoes carrying a total of 276 migrants off the Senegalese coast on Friday , the Senegalese Navy announced in a post on X.
