Senegal’s navy says it has intercepted four boats over three days with more than 600 people on board.<\/p>\n
They were attempting the treacherous crossing to Spain’s Canary Islands – a gateway to Europe.<\/p>\n
Footage on social media on Saturday showed other would-be migrants jumping off a boat that had run aground in Senegal’s coastal city of St Louis.<\/p>\n
Witnesses say winds forced them back and they wanted to avoid arrest by the navy, which has stepped up patrols.<\/p>\n
“We were at the beach chilling when suddenly we saw a pirogue [wooden style boat] arriving with migrants on board. When they got closer to the shore, they were frantically jumping into the water,” a 19-year old Saint Louis resident told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n
“We all rushed to witness this although here, it’s common.”<\/p>\n
At the end of July, the government put forward a 10-year plan to combat irregular migration, including stronger border management.<\/p>\n
Since early 2023, at least 140 migrants attempting the Atlantic crossing have died or gone missing, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).<\/p>\n
In August alone, more than 2,690 people made it to the Canary Islands from Senegal and Morocco, according to the InfoMigrants news site.<\/p>\n
This was more than double the number of arrivals in the same month last year, it said.<\/p>\n
Last month, the brother of a Senegalese man who died after a boat on which he was travelling drifted at sea for more than a month told the BBC despite the dangers, he would still attempt the trip himself as it was impossible to make a living in Senegal<\/a>.<\/p>\n The West African nation’s navy has posted photos on X, formerly known as Twitter, giving details of those it intercepted:<\/p>\n Thursday 28 September: A pirogue was found with 71 people on board<\/strong>, including 13 children<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Friday 29 September: In co-ordination with the air force, two pirogues were spotted with 272 passengers<\/strong>, including seven children, about 100km (62 miles) off the coast of the capital, Dakar<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Saturday 30 September: Two pirogues found carrying 262 people<\/strong>, including 13 children.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n