Sixty migrants shipwreck off Senegal, several dead
Audio 01:14
The canoes at the quayside at Soumbédioune, Dakar, Senegal, November 2020. RFI / Charlotte Idrac
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
In Senegal, a canoe of around sixty illegal migrants ran aground off Saint-Louis, in the north of the country.
For the moment, the National Navy has been able to rescue eleven people, including eight Senegalese and three Gambians.
A lifeless body was also recovered.
The rest of the passengers are missing.
A survivor testifies.
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Théa Ollivier
Bilal is 24 years old, he is a fashion designer in Saint-Louis.
Without telling his family, he left on Wednesday August 25 in a pirogue to clandestinely reach Spain.
But the trip was interrupted the next morning when the canoe began to take water 25 kilometers from the coast because of an overload of the boat, says the young man.
“
The canoe took a lot of water.
I took a can of gasoline and swam.
I found a solar lamp.
A fisherman pulled me out of the water around 4 a.m.
"
The phenomenon of clandestine migration resumes every year during the hot season despite the many deaths that it is difficult to count, regrets Mame Latyr Fall of the civil forum of Saint-Louis.
Yet Bilal was not afraid to take the canoe, after the death of his two brothers at sea in 2016. “
This is the first time I have taken the canoe.
I was not afraid, I just wanted to help my family.
I want to be successful in life, that's what pushed me.
Because here it's too hard.
I have a little pain.
I think of all those who have passed away, I lost my best friend in life.
"
The naval units of the French Navy are continuing search and rescue operations.
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Senegal
International Migration