Most of the passengers on the boat, which capsized a few kilometres from the coast, were from this fishing town, sadly famous for its repeated migration tragedies.
In Senegal, Mbour is synonymous with tragedy. The fishing town, 50 kilometers southeast of Dakar, is the best-known departure point for clandestine pirogues heading for the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands, the gateway to Europe. For years, the youth of Mbour have been boarding death boats to attack the Atlantic. The journey, 1,500 kilometers or about a week on the high seas, is extremely perilous. On Sunday, September 8, the shipwreck occurred off the coast of Mbour, just a few kilometers from the coast. Thirty-five bodies were recovered by the Senegalese Navy. Dozens more were swallowed up by the ocean. A few survivors held out long enough in the water to be rescued by fishermen.
Most of the passengers were from the same working-class district of Mbour. According to the Senegalese press, the owner of the pirogue was himself on board at the time of the tragedy, but managed to swim to the beach. He reportedly went to the police, acknowledging having taken on board 88 passengers for sums of between 300,000 and 400,000 CFA francs (450 to 600 euros). However, survivors deny this. “categorically” this version, swearing that “The pirogue, full as an egg, had on board more than 200 passengers including 5 women and a large number of children.”
The President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, “bowed before the memory of the victims of the shipwreck”, indicated the statement of the minutes of the council of ministers, Tuesday. The 44-year-old head of state, elected on a program of rupture, very popular among young Senegalese, had symbolically held the closing meeting of his electoral campaign in Mbour, then returned there after his triumphant election, at the beginning of May. Sunday’s shipwreck is the first migratory tragedy of this magnitude that he has faced since the beginning of his mandate.
More than 22,000 Africans have landed in the Canary Islands in 2024, more than double the number at this point in the year compared to the previous year. At the end of August, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, on a tour of West Africa, announced the signing in Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania of new agreements in favour of a “regulated migration”. They are supposed to set up a concerted framework for regular entry into Spanish soil based on labor needs. On Monday, September 9, the Senegalese Navy intercepted two new pirogues carrying 421 illegal migrants, including 20 children, without specifying the location of the intervention or the nationality of the passengers.
