Senegal human rights group demands government action after deadly sinking

News|Migration

A human rights group in Senegal is calling on the government to launch a parliamentary inquiry after a small boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of the West African country, killing at least 39 people.

In a statement, Action for Human Rights and Friendship (ADHA) denounced a “lack of lasting results” to reduce migrant deaths at sea.

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“Despite 300 thousand euros [$336,000] announced for the Navy and the training of more than 300 agents, the association denounces the lack of lasting results in the face of the increase in irregular arrivals to the Canaries,” ADHA said.

The pirogue-type flat-bottomed boat departed from Saint-Louis in northern Senegal and was headed to the Spanish coast when it overturned off the Lompoul dunes, in the Kebemer department, 180km (112 miles) north of the capital Dakar, on Sunday, state media said.

ADHA said, “It is no longer enough to deplore shipwrecks, announce measures and count interceptions.”

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye offered condolences and pledged to clamp down on traffickers behind the dangerous journeys.

Initial reports put the death toll at 21, but more bodies were found as emergency services continued search and rescue efforts, raising the number of dead first to 34, then to 39.

Only one passenger was rescued alive, and several others are still believed to be missing.

“The boat was carrying people seeking to migrate irregularly”, Senegal’s Ministry of the Interior and Public Security said in a statement, but did not specify how many people were on board the vessel at the time.

A gendarme directs migrants who attempted Atlantic crossing as they disembark from a pirogue after Senegalese marines intercepted the vessel carrying 112 people, officials said, as it was brought ashore at Ouakam Beach in Dakar, Senegal September 16, 2025. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra — Migrants sit at Ouakam Beach in Dakar, Senegal, after Senegalese marines intercepted a boat carrying 112 people on September 16, 2025 [File: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]

Thousands ⁠of people have ⁠died in recent years attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa, including ‌635 in the first five months of this year, according to ‌migrant rights ‌group Walking Borders.

Spanish authorities on the Canary Island of El Hierro declared an emergency on Saturday after a surge in migrant boat arrivals.

El Hierro authorities said more than 3,300 people had arrived on board about 30 boats since the start of November.