![Migrants queue to be registered after disembarking from a Spanish coast guard vessel at the port of La Restinga, on the island of El Hierro, Spain, on November 6, 2026 [Jesus Cabrera/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/2026-11-06T120310Z_941900066_RC22IOABMOTM_RTRMADP_3_MIGRATION-SPAIN-CANARY-ISLANDS-1794141176.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
A small boat carrying migrants and refugees has sunk off northwestern Senegal, killing at least 21 people.
The Senegalese Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that one person had been rescued in addition to the 21 bodies recovered.
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The ministry said the death toll was âÂÂprovisionalâ as of late Saturday, adding that the search was still ongoing and the families of the victims were being helped.
Media reports said the pirogue-type flat-bottomed boat capsized on Saturday off the Loumpoul dunes in the Kebemer department, between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis.
Le Soleil newspaper said that most of the victims were from the Leona and Thieppe districts in the same department.
Thousands â of people have â died in recent years attempting to reach SpainâÂÂs Canary Islands from West Africa, including âÂÂ635 in the first five months of this year, according to âÂÂmigrant rights âÂÂgroup Walking Borders
Spanish authorities on the Canary Island of El Hierro declared an emergency on Saturday after a surge in migrant boat arrivals. Since the start of November, El Hierro authorities said more than 3,300 people had arrived aboard around 30 boats.