![The body of one of the fifteen migrants who drowned off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, being carried from the Atlantic Ocean by rescuers, on Monday July 24, 2023. [Twitter/Screenshot/Reuters]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Screenshot-2023-07-24-160058-e1690229056849.jpg "The body of one of the fifteen migrants who drowned off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, being carried from the Atlantic Ocean by rescuers, on Monday July 24, 2023. [Twitter/Screenshot/Reuters]")
At least 15 people drowned after a boat carrying migrants capsized and sank off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, early Monday, according to authorities.
“I express my deep sorrow following the death of fifteen Senegalese in the sinking of a canoe off the coast of Dakar. My heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims,” President Macky Sall of Senegal tweeted Monday.
The accident occurred in the early hours off one of Senegal’s popular beaches in the Ouakam area, according to Reuters. The search and rescue efforts involved firefighters, divers, local fishermen, and the Senegalese navy, and stretched on into the afternoon. (RELATED: 79 Dead, More Missing After Crowded Vessel Sinks)
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
At least 15 people drowned off the coast of Senegal’s capital Dakar after a boat carrying migrants capsized https://t.co/kq1fDowpdM pic.twitter.com/5Ne3akfa2I— Reuters (@Reuters) July 24, 2023
“We saw three people, then five, and then there were a dozen bodies that were pulled out of the water,” said Babacar Diallo, a local fisherman who had gone to the beach at 6:00 a.m. to prepare his boats for the day’s work, per Reuters. He also reportedly indicated that two people survived but that there could still be more bodies and that the murkiness of the waters appeared to pose a challenge to the efforts.
There have been multiple attempted migrant crossings this month alone, with the Senegalese navy intercepting one, Reuters added. The migrant boats attempt to cross to Spain’s Canary Islands via the Atlantic route, reportedly one of the deadliest migrant routes. Migrants, however, appear undeterred.
Eight people died when a boat carrying 155 people capsized off the coast of northern Senegal on July 12. Seven people died, 50 were rescued, and 90 were missing when a boat was found in distress off the coast of Senegal on July 7. Both appeared to be heading to the Canaries en route to Spain.
At least 140 migrants drowned off the coast of Senegal in Oct. 2020 in the deadliest shipwreck of that year.
“All the young people have to understand that it’s not worth it. God can give them what they want here,” Diallo said after Monday’s accident, according to Reuters.