Greater than 60 persons are believed to have died after a migrant boat from Senegal was discovered off West Africa’s Cape Verde islands, the Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM) mentioned Wednesday.
Sixty-three persons are thought to have died, whereas the 38 survivors included 4 kids aged 12 to 16, IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli instructed AFP.
The lengthy wood fishing vessel, referred to as a pirogue, was noticed Monday within the Atlantic Ocean about 150 nautical miles (277 kilometres) from the Cape Verdean island of Sal, police mentioned.
The Spanish fishing vessel that noticed it alerted Cape Verdean authorities.
The Cape Verde archipelago lies about 600 kilometres (350 miles) off the coast on the maritime migration path to the Spanish Canary Islands — a gateway to the European Union.
Emergency providers recovered the stays of seven folks, Msehli instructed AFP, whereas one other 56 persons are believed to be lacking.
“Usually, when persons are reported lacking following a shipwreck, they’re presumed lifeless,” she mentioned.
The boat left the Senegalese fishing village of Fasse Boye on July 10 with 101 folks on board, Senegal’s overseas ministry mentioned on Tuesday, citing survivors.
Other than one particular person from Guinea-Bissau, they have been all Senegalese.
The authorities haven’t, for the second, mentioned what occurred to the boat as soon as it set off.
However Abdou Karim Sarr, an officer with the native fisherman’s affiliation the CLPA, instructed AFP: “These lacking are all lifeless.”
– Harmful route –
Moda Samb, an area elected official from Fasse Boye, mentioned practically all these on the boat had grown up on this fishing neighborhood.
“One of many survivors who had his father on the phone instructed him that the others have been lifeless,” he mentioned. Different households have been nonetheless ready to listen to if their kids have been among the many survivors, he added.
The authorities in Cape Verde mentioned they’d mobilised the mandatory sources to look after the survivors, seven of whom needed to be hospitalised after reaching Sal on Tuesday.
Senegal’s overseas ministry mentioned it will be working to repatriate its residents as quickly as potential.
Senegal has already handled a number of related tragedies lately.
Cape Verde lies on one of many maritime migration routes utilized by 1000’s of Africans fleeing poverty and conflict in the direction of Europe.
Lots of them goal to succeed in the Spanish Canary Islands, some of the harmful routes, usually travelling within the pirogue boats that are susceptible to the vagaries of the climate.
Round 90 migrants from Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone needed to be rescued within the seas off Cape Verde in January this 12 months.
SOURCE: AFP – TOE
