DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A boat carrying nearly a hundred migrants hoping to reach Europe from Senegal ran aground on Tuesday morning in the capital city of Dakar, according to local authorities.

The migrants were likely aiming to sail another 1,500 kilometers (about 937 miles) across the Atlantic Ocean to Spain's Canary Islands, which has reemerged as a major migrant transit route since 2020.

Nearly 47,000 people disembarked in the Canaries in 2024, an increase from the nearly 40,000 in 2023, according to Spanish Interior Ministry figures. Many undertake the journey in large, open top boats known as pirogues.

“We were informed of the interception of a pirogue full of migrants who wanted to leave for Europe," said Abdou Aziz Guèye, mayor of Ouakam, the neighborhood where the boat ran aground.

The pirogue was first spotted by fishermen who lent the occupants an engine, as they no longer had one, said Guèye.

“It is a distressing sight. The captain reportedly fled with the engine," Guèye said.

Although the canoe landed in Ouakam, its journey did not originate there, the mayor said.

When the boat arrived local police set up a temporary processing center to conduct identity checks on the passengers.

The Atlantic crossing is one of the deadliest in the world. While there is no accurate death toll because of the lack of information on departures from West Africa, the Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders estimates the victims are in the thousands this year alone.

“Illegal emigration is not over. It’s a phenomenon that continues,” said Guèye, who cautioned migrants from making the risky journey.

While most migrants leaving Senegal are young men, aid workers in the Canary Islands say they are increasingly seeing women and children risk their lives as well.

Last year, the EU signed a 210 million euro deal with Mauritania to stop smugglers from launching boats to Spain. But statistics show trans-Atlantic migration from West Africa has continued, even as irregular border crossings in Europe have been falling steadily.

In Senegal, winter sees an increase in attempted journeys as the seasonal change lowers the intensity of waves. However, migrants still choose to take the risk throughout the year.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025