A total of 30 dead people, who were reportedly migrants traveling to Europe, were found in an abandoned boat off the coast of Senegal, the nation's armed forces press service reported. The vessel was later taken to the port of Dakar for further investigation.
"The Senegalese Navy was informed of a pirogue with several lifeless bodies about 70 km off the coast of Dakar. The patrol boat CAYOR, which was immediately sent to the area, found the boat, which was towed to the outer harbor of the port of Dakar," the statement said.
The convoy arrived in the port at around 06:00 on Monday morning. Three speedboats and a landing barge carrying teams of doctors, firefighters, and health officials joined the convoy at anchor.
The advanced state of decomposition of the bodies has made recovery, identification, and repatriation operations extremely difficult.
Earlier in September, at least 39 people died when a migrant boat sank off the coast of Senegal. The boat, carrying more than 200 people trying to reach Europe, overturned approximately three kilometers off the coast.