Boat capsizes off of Cape Verde, with over 60 people thought dead

According to officials from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a boat sank off Cape Verde, leaving more than 60 people believed dead and 38 others in need of rescue.

The IOM said on Wednesday that “more than 60 people are believed to have died when a migrant boat that left Senegal in July capsized off Cape Verde.”

 

According to media sources in Cape Verde, an island country 620 kilometers (385 miles) off the coast of West Africa, the fishing boat departed Senegal a month ago.

 

 

38 people, including a citizen of Guinea-Bissau, were rescued from the boat, according to a statement from Senegal’s foreign ministry late on Tuesday, according to Al Jazeera.

The coast guard reported a total of 48 survivors and fatalities. The neighborhood morgue reported receiving seven deceased corpses.

 

Almost 320 kilometers (200 miles) off the island of Sal, the vessel was seen on Monday by a Spanish fishing boat, which notified Cape Verde authorities, according to the police.

According to Filomena Goncalves, the Cape Verdean Health Minister, who was reported by Al Jazeera through the Inforpress news agency, “We must open our arms and welcome the living and bury the dead with dignity.”

A big fishing boat known as a pirogue carrying more than 100 refugees and migrants departed Senegal on July 10 according to the Spanish migration advocacy organization Walking Borders.

On the sea path leading to the Spanish Canary Islands, which serve as a gateway to the European Union, is Cape Verde.

Each year, thousands of migrants and refugees escaping violence and poverty take the perilous voyage. According to Al Jazeera, they often go in small boats or motorized canoes that are provided by smugglers who collect a fee for the trip.

About 90 refugees and migrants who were lost in a canoe in Cape Verde were rescued in January, but two people perished. According to Al Jazeera, they were from Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone.