At least 26 people died when their pirogue sank off the coast of Senegal, near Mbour, in a new tragedy of illegal immigration to Europe that occurred on September 8, 2024. The alleged organizer of this clandestine trip to the Canary Islands and captain of the boat carrying at least 150 passengers was arrested on September 9, local authorities announced.
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With our correspondent in Dakar, Lea-Lisa Westerhoff
This drama of illegal emigration in Senegal and a rising toll: at least 26 people died when a pirogue capsized while heading for the Canary Islands. The shipwreck occurred on Sunday afternoon off the coast of the town of Mbour, about a hundred kilometers south of Dakar.
This pirogue was carrying more than 150 passengers. Although 24 were saved, many are still missing. And, while the search for the castaways continues, the organizer of the clandestine voyage has been arrested.
Cheikh Sall, the owner and captain of the pirogue, even reportedly turned himself in to the police on September 9, according to Mbour prefect Amadou Diop. The 52-year-old fisherman was questioned by the national division for combating migrant trafficking in Saly, a specialized police department.
According to the daily newspaper The Observerthe owner of the pirogue was himself on board at the time of the tragedy, but managed to swim to the beach. To investigators, he allegedly claimed to have taken on board 88 passengers for sums of between 300,000 and 400,000 CFA francs (approximately 450 to 600 euros). The pirogue captain, who comes from a working-class district of Mbour, is said to have already organized other trips of this type.
Today, many of the missing come from this same neighborhood.
” This phenomenon is draining us of our youth »
The mayor of the commune of Mbour, Cheikh Issa Sall, in any case launched a new appeal on Monday to all communities to help stop what he described as a real ” hemorrhage ” in his city, regretting that, so far, no awareness raising has worked.
” This is an extremely serious and complex phenomenon, for which we have not yet been able to find the right solution.he measures. Because we did a lot of awareness-raising: we involved imams, neighborhood councils, and everyone got involved. But, unfortunately, until now, it’s as if this phenomenon has accelerated. “.
The mayor added: ” No one can tell you definitively what the exact causes of this phenomenon are. Is it unemployment? For some, yes. But for others, it is about pirogue captains, people who really have a respectable job, but who give up everything to embark in these makeshift pirogues to go to Europe. »
Sheikh Issa Sall concludes: “ What needs to be reaffirmed is that this is a phenomenon that is draining us of our youth. »
Also readSenegal: Human toll uncertain after the sinking of a pirogue with at least 150 passengers off the coast of Mbour