Over 60 people are feared dead after the boat in which they were travelling from Senegal was discovered near Cape Verde, according to reports on Wednesday.
Thirty-eight individuals survived while 63 asylum seekers lost their lives, according to a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Among the survivors are four children aged between 12 and 16 years. The majority of individuals on the boat, which spent over a month at sea, are believed to be from Senegal.
Cape Verde authorities also appealed for international cooperation on migration to prevent future loss of life.
According to the AFP news agency, the vessel was initially sighted on Monday and police said that it was believed that the boat had sunk. But later, it was clarified that it had been adrift.
The survivors and Senegal’s foreign ministry said that the boat departed from the Senegalese fishing village of Fasse Boye on 10 July, carrying 101 individuals.
The ministry further stated that it is in communication with Cape Verde authorities to facilitate the repatriation of Senegalese citizens.
Among the passengers, there are reportedly individuals from other countries such as Sierra Leone, and in one case, from Guinea-Bissau, the reports said.
On Monday, the authorities reported that the extensive wooden fishing vessel was sighted in the Atlantic Ocean off the western coast of Africa – situated approximately 150 nautical miles (277km) away from the Cape Verdean island of Sal.
Jose Moreira, a Sal health official, told the media that the condition of survivors was improving.
Health minister Filomena Goncalves said: “We know that migration issues are global issues, which require international cooperation, a lot of discussions and global strategy. We all, all the nations, have to sit down at the table and see what we can do so that we don’t lose any more lives at sea, above all.”
Cape Verde is situated around 350 miles (600km) off the coast along the maritime route leading to Spain’s Canary Islands.
The Atlantic migration path from western Africa to the Canary Islands, commonly used to access mainland Spain, is known as one of the most dangerous in the world.
The IOM spokesperson said: “Safe and regular pathways to migration are sorely lacking, which is what gives room to smugglers and traffickers to put people on these deadly journeys.”
In 2022, at least 559 individuals lost their lives trying to reach the Canary Islands, while during the first half of this year, 126 people died or went unaccounted for on the same route. IOM also recorded a total of 15 shipwrecks during this period.
