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Updated October 30th, 2020 at 08:07 IST

IOM: Senegal shipwreck deadliest so far this year

A weekend migrant shipwreck off Senegal has left at least 140 people dead, making it the deadliest so far this year, the International Organization for Migration confirmed on Thursday.

IOM: Senegal shipwreck deadliest so far this year
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A weekend migrant shipwreck off Senegal has left at least 140 people dead, making it the deadliest so far this year, the International Organization for Migration confirmed on Thursday.

About 200 passengers set off in the vessel from the Senegalese town of Mbour on Saturday, heading for Spain's Canary Islands, but the boat soon caught fire and sank off Senegal's northwestern coast near Saint Louis.

Fifty-nine passengers were saved, IOM said.

Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General said on Thursday "The Government of Senegal and IOM have arranged a mission to travel to Saint-Louis to assess the needs of survivors and provide immediate psychosocial assistance."

He added the IOM is calling for governments and international partners to "dismantle trafficking and smuggling networks that take advantage of desperate youth".

Dujarric said 414 people are known to have died along this route since the beginning of this year, via IOM data.

The deadliest shipwreck comes as the number of boats trying to reach the Canary Islands from Senegal's shores has “significantly increased in recent weeks," the U.N. migration agency has said

Senegal's shores were once a major departure point for those hoping to migrate to Europe.

However, in recent years it had become more common for Senegalese to travel over land to Tunisia or Libya before attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

Those travelling by sea have been refused visas for European countries but take the risk of a perilous voyage for the chance to earn enough money to support their families back home.

This story has not been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.

(Image Pixabay)

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Published October 30th, 2020 at 08:07 IST

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