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

More than 60 radical are feared dormant aft a vessel carrying migrants was recovered disconnected Cape Verde successful West Africa.

Thirty-eight radical were rescued, including children aged 12 to 16, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

An estimated 100 people, mostly from Senegal and Sierra Leone, were said to person been connected committee the vessel and had been astatine oversea for a month.

It is not instantly wide erstwhile the incidental occurred.

The vas was archetypal spotted connected Monday, constabulary told the AFP quality agency. Initial reports suggested the vessel sank, but it was aboriginal clarified that the vessel was recovered drifting.

The woody pirogue benignant vessel was seen astir 320km (200 miles) disconnected the land of Sal by a Spanish sportfishing boat, which alerted authorities, constabulary said.

Senegal's overseas ministry said successful a connection issued precocious connected Tuesday that the vessel had near Senegal connected 10 July with 101 passengers connected board.

The ministry said it was liaising with authorities successful Cape Verde for the repatriation of survivors, 1 of whom was from Guinea-Bissau.

Cape Verde is astir 600km disconnected the seashore of West Africa connected a maritime migration way to the Spanish Canary Islands, often utilized arsenic a gateway to the European Union.

IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli said: "Safe and regular pathways to migration are sorely lacking, which is what gives country to smugglers and traffickers to enactment radical connected these deadly journeys."

At slightest 559 radical died trying to scope the Canary Islands successful 2022, according to figures from the IOM, portion 126 radical died oregon went missing connected the aforesaid way successful the archetypal six months of this twelvemonth with 15 shipwrecks recorded.

At slightest 15 radical drowned erstwhile a vessel carrying migrants capsized disconnected the seashore of the Senegalese superior Dakar successful precocious July.