More than 60 migrants feared dead at sea off Cape Verde coast

By Joe Inwood, Suzanne Leigh, and Christy Cooney

More than 60 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants was found off Cape Verde in West Africa. 

Thirty-eight people, including children, were rescued, with footage showing them being helped ashore, some on stretchers, on the island of Sal.

Almost all those on board the boat, which was at sea for over a month, are thought to have been from Senegal.

Cape Verde officials have called for global action on migration to help prevent further loss of life. 

The vessel was first spotted on Monday, police told the AFP news agency. Initial reports suggested that the boat had sunk but it was later clarified that it had been found drifting.

The wooden pirogue style boat was seen almost 320km (200 miles) off Sal, a part of Cape Verde, by a Spanish fishing boat, which then alerted authorities, police said.

The survivors include four children aged between 12 and 16, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

The boat left the Senegalese fishing village of Fass Boye on 10 July with 101 people on board, Senegal’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday, citing survivors. 

Moda Samb, an elected official in the village, told AFP news agency nearly all those on the boat had grown up in the community and that some local families were still waiting to hear whether their relatives were among the survivors. 

The ministry said it was liaising with authorities in Cape Verde to arrange the repatriation of Senegalese nationals.

The passengers’ other countries of origin reportedly include Sierra Leone and, in one case, Guinea-Bissau.

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