The Kébémer coastline is living through dark days. The sinking of a pirogue carrying people attempting irregular migration, off Lompoul in the commune of Léona, has claimed at least 39 lives according to the latest update released on Monday, November 9. Only one passenger survived.
The death toll has climbed steadily. On Saturday evening, the Interior Ministry reported 21 victims. The discovery of eleven more bodies on Sunday raised the figure to 34, then to 35 by the evening according to the fire brigade. On Monday morning, four more bodies were found in an advanced state of decomposition, before rescuers held a collective funeral prayer and they were buried. According to Saliou Diouf, founder of the migrant support association Boza Fii, the boat capsized on Friday. Like so many others, it was bound for Spain’s Canary Islands.
The search, now in its third day, covers a roughly 25-kilometre stretch of coastline that is particularly difficult to reach. Ocean currents are making the rescuers’ task even harder by gradually carrying bodies southwards. An unknown number of people remain missing, raising fears that the toll will rise further.
The bodies are currently being held at the Kébémer health district for identification, and authorities are considering deploying a mobile morgue to cope with the number of victims. According to a situation update, 24 bodies have already been identified and returned to their families, while others are still awaiting identification. An investigation has been opened to establish exactly what happened, and fuel cans have been seized as part of the inquiry.
The tragedy has caused deep emotion at the highest level of the state. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed his profound sorrow and paid tribute to the memory of the victims. On Monday, Interior and Public Security Minister Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé travelled to Lompoul with administrative officials and the defence and security forces to inspect the search operation and meet grieving families. Across the political spectrum, the Alliance of Progress Forces expressed its dismay and called for an investigation.
The disaster comes as departures are surging again. More than 3,200 migrants reached the Canary Islands in the first five days of November alone, and several of the pirogues that arrived had set off from the coast of Saint-Louis. On the same Saturday the tragedy was announced, Senegal’s gendarmerie intercepted 142 migrants off Dakar, including women and children, who were trying to reach Spain.
Despite tighter controls, the Atlantic route remains one of the deadliest in the world. In Kébémer, as elsewhere along Senegal’s coast, each new shipwreck is a reminder of the desperation of young people willing to risk everything to reach Europe.