Rescued 124 migrants off the coast of Senegal

A Senegalese Navy rescued on Thursday 124 migrants who were on board a ship on the high seas, today reported the Armada of this West African country.

“The National Navy rescued a traditional fishing vessel that transported 124 migrants in an irregular situation about 37 kilometres off the coast of Djiffère,” said the Armada in a brief press release published on social networks, without further details.

The authorities did not specify the destination of the vessel. Senegal is a country of origin and transit of migrants trying to reach the Canary Islands irregularly, Spanish territory in the Atlantic Ocean.

On Thursday, the Spanish maritime rescue service rescued 282 migrants trying to reach the islands of Lanzarote and El Hierro, in precarious vessels. Among them was the pneumatic vessel described as the most overcrowded ever detected on the so-called Canary Islands route, with 125 people on board.

The migratory route between the African coast and the Spanish islands is considered one of the most dangerous in the world.