102 Senegalese illegal migrants missing at sea

SAINT-LOUIS – Fishermen in Senegal rescued 25 Senegalese illegal immigrants seeking to reach Spain, but at least 102 others in the makeshift boat were missing at sea, said hospital sources and survivors.

The survivors were taken on Saturday afternoon to the regional hospital in Saint-Louis. Dr Demba Dieng, head of emergency services, said: “They arrived exhausted and dehydrated…Visibly hungry and thirsty.”He said the doctor added that their lives were not in danger, but that they would remain at the hospital for several days as they are suffering from diarrhea “after having swallowed excessive amounts of sea water during some 10 days”.Some survivors said that 127 men set out in a wooden boat on December 03 from Bolongne in southern Senegal heading for Spain’s Canary islands off the west Africa coast.Siaka Dieng said: “We hoped to reach Spain without a problem, because we had GPS and other good orientation equipment, which told us the course at each stage.”The young man said: “We hit storms off the Moroccan coast.The waves stopped our progress and forced us to turn back after several days without provisions.We had to drink sea water.”However, a 38-year-old fisherman Atoumane Gaye attributed the problem to disagreements among the men in the boat.No information was available late on Saturday on the other 102 men reported to be travelling in the boat, nor any word about a search operation.Nampa-AFPDr Demba Dieng, head of emergency services, said: “They arrived exhausted and dehydrated…Visibly hungry and thirsty.”He said the doctor added that their lives were not in danger, but that they would remain at the hospital for several days as they are suffering from diarrhea “after having swallowed excessive amounts of sea water during some 10 days”.Some survivors said that 127 men set out in a wooden boat on December 03 from Bolongne in southern Senegal heading for Spain’s Canary islands off the west Africa coast.Siaka Dieng said: “We hoped to reach Spain without a problem, because we had GPS and other good orientation equipment, which told us the course at each stage.”The young man said: “We hit storms off the Moroccan coast.The waves stopped our progress and forced us to turn back after several days without provisions.We had to drink sea water.”However, a 38-year-old fisherman Atoumane Gaye attributed the problem to disagreements among the men in the boat.No information was available late on Saturday on the other 102 men reported to be travelling in the boat, nor any word about a search operation.Nampa-AFP