At least 140 people were killed after a vessel carrying about 200 migrants sank off the Senegalese coast, the deadliest shipwreck recorded in 2020, dpa cited the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as saying, today on Thursday. The Senegalese and Spanish navies as well as nearby fishermen managed to rescue 59 people and retrieve the dead bodies of 20 others, the IOM said in a statement, citing media sources. The international community should "dismantle trafficking and smuggling networks that take advantage of desperate youth" trying to reach Europe, said IOM Senegal chief of mission Bakary Doumbia. Local community members told IOM the vessel left the coastal town of Mbour in western Senegal on Saturday bound for the Canary Islands. The boat caught fire a few hours after departure and capsized near Saint-Louis, on Senegal's north-west coast. Senegal's government and IOM have arranged a mission to travel to Saint-Louis to assess the needs of survivors and provide immediate psychosocial assistance.
