Published on : 28/06/2022 – 23:03
At least 14 migrants died Monday, June 27 in a fire that broke out on a canoe in Kafountine, in southern Senegal, the mayor of the town and a medical official told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday. “As I speak to you, we were able to fish out 14 dead bodies,” explained David Diatta, mayor of this town in Casamance, adding that it was “probable that the toll will increase.” “There are also 21 injured, including four with second-degree burns,” said Bourama Fabouré, the city’s chief nurse. About 140 people were on the canoe. Nearly 90 of them survived and could be identified by local authorities, but the search will continue on Wednesday to try to find the missing, assures the mayor. “There were Guineans, Nigerians, Gambians and Senegalese,” he says. “The survivors say that the fire started because of a person who was smoking a cigarette in a place where there was fuel,” he also said. The police opened an investigation.