More than 60 Senegalese migrants are feared dead on a monthlong voyage to Spain
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00:00 In other news, more than 60 people are feared dead after a boat capsized off the coast of
00:06 Cape Verde. It had set sail more than a month ago from Senegal, likely bound for Spain's
00:12 Canary Islands. That migrant route from West Africa to Spain is one of the most dangerous
00:18 in the world. The number of people, though, attempting the journey has surged this past
00:23 year. The Health Minister of Cape Verde has called for global action now to help prevent
00:29 further loss of life.
00:31 It comes with a lot of pain, yes, but we know that migration issues are global issues which
00:36 require international cooperation, a lot of discussion and global strategy. Given what
00:40 the world is going through right now with migratory issues, it means that we all, all
00:45 the nations have to sit down at the table and see what we can do so that we don't lose
00:49 any more lives at sea.
00:52 Also covering this story for us is reporter Sira Theerish. She's in Dakar, Senegal, and
00:57 she has more details for us on the conditions of the survivors.
01:06 The boat had left Senegal on the 10th of July, so that's more than a month out at sea for
01:11 the 101 people on board, including some children. They all departed from the fishing village
01:18 of Fasboy, which is about three hours north of the capital, Dakar, and 38 of them were
01:23 rescued on Tuesday off the island of Sal, which is a part of Cape Verde. There they're
01:29 being looked after at the moment. They're given rehydration treatment, tests for malaria
01:34 and COVID, and officials are saying that their conditions are improving.
01:39 They were all on the way to the Canary Islands, which is a territory of Spain and seen by
01:45 many as a way to come to the EU. And indeed, we have been seeing quite an increase in people
01:51 attempting this very dangerous migration route, the Atlantic route, to come to Europe. Just
01:57 a couple of weeks ago, at least 17 bodies were found at a popular beach in Dakar, and
02:04 the Spanish NGO has reported that 800 people have died in the Atlantic from Senegal this
02:12 year alone. And back at home in Fasboy, when the news broke yesterday, when people learned
02:18 what had happened to their friends and their family members, of course, they were incredibly
02:23 devastated and sad. But soon, some of them were also increasingly frustrated. They started
02:30 damaging cars and boats, and some even set the house of the mayor on fire because especially
02:35 young people in Senegal feel like there's such a lack of opportunities for them here,
02:40 and they want the authorities to help them more.