Senegalese authorities intercepted 112 migrants aboard a long wooden fishing boat known as a pirogue off the coast of Dakar on Tuesday as they attempted to reach Europe via a perilous Atlantic Ocean route, officials said.
Abdoul Aziz Gueye, mayor of Dakar’s Ouakam district, said local fishermen alerted authorities to a drifting wooden pirogue that lacked an engine.
“The fishermen kindly lent them a motor which they used to approach the shores before they were intercepted by the marines,” Gueye said, adding that all on board were young men.
An investigation was under way to determine the origins of the vessel and the circumstances surrounding its lack of engine, Gueye added.
Stepped up patrols
One of the migrants, huddled on Ouakam beach under the watch of Senegalese gendarmes, told Reuters that the group was from a neighbouring nation and had been at sea for five days.
Irregular migration from West Africa to Europe, particularly along the Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands, is a persistent challenge for regional coastguards.
Senegalese authorities have stepped up patrols in recent years aimed at preventing illegal migration.
