Senegal intercepts pirogue carrying 112 migrants attempting Atlantic crossing

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DAKAR (Reuters) -Senegalese authorities intercepted 112 migrants aboard a long wooden fishing boat known as a pirogue off the coast of Dakar on Tuesday as they attempted to reach Europe via a perilous Atlantic Ocean route, officials said.

Abdoul Aziz Gueye, mayor of Dakar’s Ouakam district, said local fishermen alerted authorities to a drifting wooden pirogue that lacked an engine.

“The fishermen kindly lent them a motor which they used to approach the shores before they were intercepted by the marines,” Gueye said, adding that all on board were young men.

An investigation was under way to determine the origins of the vessel and the circumstances surrounding its lack of engine, Gueye added.

One of the migrants, huddled on Ouakam beach under the watch of Senegalese gendarmes, told Reuters that the group was from neighbouring Gambia and had been at sea for five days.

Irregular migration from West Africa to Europe, particularly along the Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands, is a persistent challenge for regional coastguards.

Despite increased cooperation between European and West African nations to address irregular migration, the complex root causes continue to fuel the dangerous trend.

Experts cite economic hardship, political instability and the impact of climate change on traditional livelihoods as key factors driving migration from the region.

Senegalese authorities have stepped up patrols in recent years, but migrants persist in attempting the journey, often in overcrowded and ill-equipped vessels.

(Reporting by Ngouda Dione and Zohra Bensemra; Writing by Bate Felix and Cooper Inveen; Editing by Alex Richardson)