More than 60 missing after migrant boat capsizes off Cape Verde: Report

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - A boat carrying mostly Senegalese migrants capsized off the coast of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving more than 60 people missing, local media reported Wednesday.

“More than 60 migrants are feared dead after a canoe that left the Senegalese coast in early July capsized off Cape Verde. The canoe was spotted on Aug. 14,” the local news portal Senego said, citing the spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Safa Msehli.

“Rescuers saved 38 people on Tuesday, including four children between the ages of 12 and 16,” it said.

The boat reportedly left Fass Boye, a seaside town 145 kilometers (90 miles) north of the Senegalese capital Dakar, on July 10 with more than 100 passengers on board.

It is said to have been spotted roughly 277 kilometers (172 miles) from the Cape Verdean island of Sal by a Spanish fishing vessel, which alerted Cape Verdean authorities.

The island is located 600 kilometers (373 miles) from the Senegalese coast.

Rescuers also recovered the bodies of seven victims, according to the report.

In July, at least 15 bodies were recovered after a migrant boat en route to the Canary Islands --one of the main destinations for people trying to reach Europe, capsized off Dakar.