(ANSA) - ROME, OCTOBER 29 - At least 140 people have died in the Senegal extension in the sinking of a boat of migrants, which occurred last week.
This was reported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
It would be the worst shipwreck of 2020. The boat was carrying about 200 migrants and, according to some local media, the Senegalese and Spanish navies, and the fishermen who were nearby, rescued 59, and recovered the remains of 20 others. local communities told IOM that the ship left Mbour, a coastal city in western Senegal, on Saturday 24 October, bound for the Canary Islands.
The boat allegedly caught fire a few hours after departure and capsized near Saint-Louis on the northwest coast of Senegal.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) "is deeply saddened by this recent tragedy - reads a note -, which follows four shipwrecks recorded in the central Mediterranean last week and another in the Manica".
"We call for unity between governments, partners and the international community to dismantle the trafficking and smuggling networks that exploit desperate young people," said BakaryDoumbia, head of the IOM mission in Senegal, also pointing out the importance of supporting "legal channels. strengthened to undermine the business model of traffickers and prevent the loss of human life "(ANSA).