Local authorities reported on Tuesday that Cheikh Sall, the captain and owner of a migrant boat that capsized off Senegal, has been arrested.
The death toll has increased to 26, according to Senegal’s navy, who shared the update on social media. Sall turned himself in on Monday, as confirmed by district prefect Amadou Diop.
The artisanal fishing vessel departed from Mbour, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Dakar, on Sunday afternoon, aiming for Europe before capsizing just offshore.
Recent years have seen a rise in migrants leaving West Africa via Senegal, driven by conflict, poverty, and limited job opportunities.
Many aim for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off West Africa, as a gateway to continental Europe.
Since the start of the year, the Canary Islands have received over 22,300 arrivals, marking a 126% rise from the same period last year, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry.
In a recent operation, Senegal’s military apprehended 453 migrants and suspected smugglers during a 12-day patrol along the coast. More than half of those arrested were Senegalese nationals.
Additionally, in July, a boat carrying 300 migrants, mainly from Gambia and Senegal, capsized off Mauritania, leading to over a dozen deaths and at least 150 people missing.
The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is considered one of the deadliest globally.
Due to limited data on departures from West Africa, precise death tolls are hard to determine.
However, Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders estimates that thousands have perished this year.
Many migrant vessels that go missing or encounter difficulties in the Atlantic often disappear entirely, sometimes drifting for months before being found in the Caribbean or Latin America with only human remains on board.
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