# 34 dead as migrant boat sinks off Senegal

> A wooden boat capsized between Dakar and Saint-Louis while heading to Spain's Canary Islands, with one person rescued and others still missing.
- Title: 34 dead as migrant boat sinks off Senegal · BBC News
- Summary: A wooden boat capsized between Dakar and Saint-Louis while heading to Spain's Canary Islands, with one person rescued and others still missing.
- Keywords: senegal, canary islands, migrant boat, atlantic crossing, deaths at sea, migration, west africa, spain, BBC News
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2d6dpge65go
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: senegal, canary islands, migrant boat, atlantic crossing, deaths at sea, migration, west africa, spain, news, world
## Boat capsizes off Senegal coast
At least thirty four people died after a wooden boat sank off Senegal between Dakar and Saint-Louis while heading to Spain's Canary Islands. One person was rescued.
## Atlantic route deadliest for migrants
Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders recorded six hundred thirty five deaths on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands between January and May twenty twenty six, the highest toll among the routes it monitors.
## One in five migrants dies on crossing
Walking Borders estimates that about twenty one people died for every one hundred who reached the Canary Islands during the period it monitored, showing the extreme danger of the journey.

> 21 out of every 100 people who reach the Canary Islands by sea die during the crossing
## President pledges to fight smuggling networks
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed condolences and urged Senegalese nationals not to risk dangerous sea crossings. He pledged to intensify efforts to dismantle the networks organising the journeys.

> We will relentlessly continue the fight against those who organise these crossings and the work that gives our young people reasons to hope here
## Unemployment drives migration from Senegal
Nearly one in four young people in Senegal was unemployed in the second quarter of twenty twenty six. Limited employment opportunities and established migration networks drive people to attempt the dangerous Atlantic crossing.
## Key takeaway

At least thirty four people died when a migrant boat sank off Senegal en route to the Canary Islands, highlighting the deadly Atlantic crossing from West Africa.