Boat found off Senegal’s coast adds to mystery over migrant vessels reported missing

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A fishermen’s association in Senegal says a boat carrying migrants was found in distress off the coast of Senegal, and more than 90 passengers remained missing after 50 were rescued and seven were discovered dead. The vice secretary of the Local Artisanal Fishing Council says the boat was located in the Atlantic Ocean last Friday off the coast of the fishing city of Saint-Louis. He told The Associated Press that police questioned the survivors, who said the boat originally had carried 148 people. It was unclear if the vessel was one of three boats carrying a total of 300 people that Spanish aid group Walking Borders said went missing in late June after departing Senegal.