DAKAR – Senegalese officials intercepted 112 migrants aboard a long wooden fishing boat, known as a pirogue, off the coast of Dakar on Tuesday as the group attempted a dangerous journey to Europe across the Atlantic Ocean.
The pirogue was found drifting without an engine after local fishermen alerted authorities. Those fishermen generously lent a motor to the migrants, allowing them to approach the shore before Senegalese marines intercepted them, according to Abdoul Aziz Gueye, mayor of Dakar’s Ouakam district. The entire group consisted of young men.
One migrant, speaking under Senegalese gendarmes’ watch on Ouakam beach, said the group hailed from neighboring Gambia and had been at sea for five days. Authorities have launched an investigation into the origin of the vessel and why it was without an engine.
Irregular migration from West Africa to Europe, especially along the hazardous Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands, remains a significant challenge despite increased cooperation between European and West African nations. Economic hardship, political instability, and climate change impacts continue to drive this risky migration trend, with migrants often risking overcrowded and ill-equipped vessels. Senegal has intensified patrols, but such journeys persist.