The United Nations has said at least 140 Europe-bound migrants have drowned off the coast of Senegal in what is considered the deadliest shipwreck recorded this year.
According to the United Nations migration agency; the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday,
The boat carrying 200 passengers caught fire and capsized on Saturday, a few hours after leaving the fishing town of Mbour, 100km south of the capital, Dakar.
The Senegalese and Spanish Navies and fishermen rescued some 60 people, but at least 140 people have been reported to have drowned.
The sea passage from West Africa to the Canary Islands was once a major route for those seeking an escape from poverty but attempts became scarcer when Spain stepped up patrols in the mid 2000s,
However, the route is seeing a surge this year and the number of departures from West Africa to the Canary Islands has significantly increased in recent weeks, with 14 boats carrying 663 migrants in September alone, according to the IOM.
Of these departures, 26% were reported to have experienced an incident or shipwreck.
There have been roughly 11,000 arrivals to the Canary Islands this year, compared to 2,557 arrivals during the same period last year, IOM statistics showed.
Some 414 people are known to have died along this route in 2020, up from 210 fatalities in 2019.
