Senegal reports at least 21 dead in migrant boat sinking off Kébémer
Rescuers saved one person, while the Interior Ministry gave no estimate of how many people were aboard.
Senegal's Interior Ministry said at least 21 people died when a migrant boat sank off Kébémer in the northwest, where search teams were seeking possible survivors.
Rescuers recovered 21 bodies and saved one person, the ministry said. It said help was being provided to the victims' families.
The ministry gave no estimate of the number aboard. The cause of the sinking was not immediately clear.
On X, the ministry said the interior minister expressed emotion and sadness over the sinking of the pirogue with people attempting irregular migration aboard.
DRAME MIGRATOIRE SUR LE LITTORAL DE KÉBÉMER
— Ministère de l'Intérieur du Sénégal (@Min_Interieur) November 8, 2026
Le Ministre de l’Intérieur et de la Sécurité publique exprime sa vive émotion et sa profonde tristesse à la suite du naufrage d’une pirogue transportant des candidats à la migration irrégulière au large de Kébémer. Au soir du 7
The ministry reiterated the government's "determination to combat people smuggling networks, notably through strengthened cooperation with neighboring countries."
The sinking occurred off Kébémer, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) north of Senegal's capital, Dakar. Al Jazeera, citing media reports, said the flat-bottomed pirogue overturned near the Loumpoul dunes, between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis. The outlet cited Le Soleil as saying most victims were from the Leona and Thieppe districts in Kébémer department.
Senegalese authorities said they intercepted a similar boat on Friday that was bound for Spanish territory with 142 migrants aboard. The passengers were nationals of several West African countries.
The sinking came as arrivals rose sharply in Spain's Canary Islands, where officials on El Hierro declared an emergency after migrant boat arrivals rose markedly. Officials said the island had received more than 3,300 people aboard around 30 boats since November began.
"We are very concerned... by this sharp increase in arrivals," Alpidio Armas, head of the El Hierro regional council, told Spanish television.
Armas said the emergency would allow the island "to ensure a framework of cooperation with higher-level institutions," and described hospital conditions there as "undesirable."
The Canary Islands recorded their highest number of arrivals in 2024, at 46,000, before increased surveillance and cooperation with African countries brought a sharp decline.
Thousands have died in recent years while attempting the Atlantic crossing from West Africa to the islands. Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders counted at least 635 deaths along the route in the first five months of 2026. For that period, the group estimated around 21 deaths for every 100 arrivals.
Senegal's interior minister will go to the site on Monday to convey the state's compassion and solidarity to affected residents and victims' families, the ministry said.
