30 bodies found in boat adrift off Senegal coast: army

Senegal’s navy has recovered at least 30 bodies from a boat discovered adrift around 70 kilometres off the coast of the capital Dakar, the army said Monday.
Investigations are under way to establish where the vessel came from and to confirm the death toll, the army said in a statement posted on social media. 
Senegal’s coastline sees frequent tragedies involving attempts to reach Europe by boat.
After being alerted to the incident late Sunday, a navy patrol towed the adrift, long, wooden fishing boat known as a pirogue to the port of Dakar where it arrived around 06:00 am Monday, the statement said.
A team of doctors, fire service personnel and sanitation workers awaited the convoy’s arrival, it added.
“Recovery, identification and transfer operations are being made extremely delicate by the advanced state of decomposition of the bodies,” the army statement said.
“So far, 30 bodies have been counted.”
Senegal’s coasts are one of the main departure points for scores of migrants hoping to reach Europe every year, many heading for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The Atlantic route is particularly perilous because of the strong currents, and every year officials record thousands of deaths and disappearances from overloaded, often unseaworthy boats. 
At least 39 people died in mid-September when a boat carrying migrants sank off the western port town of Mbour.
Following the tragedy, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye vowed to “relentlessly track down” migrant traffickers and called on young people to stay in the West African country.
More than 22,000 migrants have already landed in the Canary Islands so far this year, more than twice the number from the previous year.
During a three-day West African tour at the end of August, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez signed agreements with Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania to promote legal migration.
The accords establish a framework for regular entry into Spain based on labour needs.