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Deaths in tragic Senegal boat accident soars to 16

Activity has increased in recent weeks along the sea route from northwest Africa used by migrants to try to reach Europe via Spain.

AP

The bodies were discovered by the navy early in the morning and are believed to be migrants because of the type of boat they were in according to the authorities. / Photo: AP

Senegal has announced one more death following a refugee boat capsize off the coast of the capital Dakar, taking the total to 16.

Officials had initially reported 15 people died when the wooden boat overturned overnight Sunday to Monday.

Activity has increased in recent weeks along the Atlantic sea route from northwest Africa used by migrants to try to reach Europe via Spain's Canary Islands.

At least 14 people died in mid-July when a pirogue sank off the northern port city of Saint-Louis, near Senegal's border with Mauritania.

NGOs regularly report fatal shipwrecks in Moroccan, Spanish and international waters, with unofficial estimates putting the death toll in the dozens, if not hundreds.

Senegal's President Macky Sall on Monday expressed his "deep sorrow" over the deaths in the latest boat tragedy.

Sall called on authorities to step up controls at potential departure sites and strengthen public programs to counter illegal migration.