At the least 26 folks have died after a ship carrying migrants capsized off Senegal’s coast.
Authorities say greater than 100 folks had been on board the picket fishing vessel when it sank simply 4km (2.5 miles) into its journey.
Distraught family and mates have gathered alongside the seaside, anxiously ready for information of their family members.
To date, 4 folks have been rescued and search efforts are nonetheless underneath method.
The boat had departed from Mbour, about 80km south of the capital metropolis Dakar, certain for Spain’s Canary Islands, that are off the coast of West Africa.
Lately, the variety of migrants leaving West Africa by Senegal has surged.
Largely younger males – fleeing battle, poverty, and unemployment – are trying the damaging Atlantic path to the Spanish Islands, with almost 30,000 arrivals recorded this yr.
Spain is without doubt one of the European international locations that takes in probably the most migrants, and the Mediterranean Sea route stays the most well-liked.
However a rising variety of West African migrants are selecting to journey by way of the Atlantic Ocean to the Canary Islands as a substitute.
Regardless of the hazards, it includes only one step, fairly than needing to cross each the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean.
The surge in migrants making an attempt the crossing prompted Spain’s prime minister to go to three West African international locations final month – Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia – for disaster talks with leaders.
Earlier this yr, a $227m deal was made between the EU and Mauritania to bolster border safety. Spain was a key accomplice within the talks in Mauritania that had led to it.
