The death toll from a migrant boat capsize off Senegal rose to 39 on Monday after more bodies were recovered, the country’s emergency services said, according to Associated Press reporting published by CBC.

The boat left Saint-Louis in northern Senegal bound for the Spanish coast and overturned Sunday off Kébémer, north of Dakar. Senegal’s Interior Ministry initially reported at least 21 deaths and said rescuers were searching for possible survivors.

Authorities have not said how many people were aboard. Several passengers are still believed to be missing.

The crossing follows a route used by thousands of young Senegalese seeking better economic conditions in Europe. Migrants travel roughly 800 miles across the Atlantic in uncovered wooden canoes, against a backdrop of high youth unemployment, poverty and an economic crisis in Senegal, AP reported.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye offered condolences and pledged to crack down on the networks behind the dangerous crossings.

Sources