Key facts
- Senegal's Interior ministry said one person was rescued; the number still missing was not yet established.
- Saliou Diouf of Boza Fii told AFP all bodies recovered so far were Senegalese; other nationalities were not established.
- President Bassirou Diomaye Faye pledged to intensify efforts to dismantle the networks organizing the journeys.
- Senegalese authorities said they intercepted another boat on Friday carrying 142 migrants attempting to reach Spain.
- A state of emergency was declared on the Spanish island of El Hierro on Saturday after a rise in migrant arrivals.
- Walking Borders recorded 635 deaths on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands between January and May 2026.
At least 34 people died after a small wooden boat carrying migrants toward Spain's Canary Islands capsized between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis, Senegal's Interior ministry said, according to the Senegalese Press Agency. The ministry said one person had been rescued, but the number of people still missing was yet to be established.
Saliou Diouf, founder of Senegalese migrant aid group Boza Fii, told AFP that all the bodies recovered so far were Senegalese. The nationalities of other people on board were yet to be established as search operations continued.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed condolences to the victims' families and urged Senegalese nationals not to risk their lives on the sea crossings. In a statement posted on X, he pledged to intensify efforts to dismantle the networks organizing the journeys. "We will relentlessly continue the fight against those who organise these crossings and the work that gives our young people reasons to hope here," he said.
Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders recorded 635 deaths on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands between January and May 2026, the highest toll among the routes it monitors. It estimates that about 21 people died for every 100 who reached the Canary Islands during the period it monitored.
Senegalese authorities said they intercepted another boat on Friday carrying 142 migrants attempting to reach Spain. Those on board included 23 women, two babies and two other children, and police said the group comprised nationals of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria.
A state of emergency was declared on the Spanish island of El Hierro on Saturday after a rise in migrant arrivals. More than 3,300 people have reached the island in about 30 boats since the beginning of November, according to local authorities.