More than 60 people are feared dead and 38 others were rescued from a boat off Cape Verde after a boat carrying migrants was found off the coast in West Africa. Those being rescued were being brought to the island of Sal.
The migrant boat that left Senegal in July, capsized off Cape Verde, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told BBC. The wooden boat was seen by a Spanish fishing boat almost 320km (200 miles) off Sal-- they then alerted authorities, police said. The boat reportedly had about 100 people on board, all of them refugees and migrants.
The vessel was first spotted on Monday. Initial reports state that the boat had sunk, but it was found drifting. “Generally, when people are reported missing following a shipwreck, they are presumed dead,” IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli told AFP. About 56 people are believed to be missing and emergency survivors found the remains of seven people.
According to Senegal's foreign ministry, all of the 38 rescued people were Senegalese except for one, who is from Guinea-Bissau.
“We must open our arms and welcome the living and bury the dead with dignity,” said Cape Verdean Health Minister Filomena Goncalves, told Inforpress news agency.
The Senegalese ministry said it was in talks with authorities in Cape Verde to work out the repatriation of its nationals.
