The Permanent Secretary of the Inter-ministerial Committee to Combat Irregular Migration, Police Inspector General Modou Diagne, announced that more than 100 bodies had been recovered from the sea in Senegal in 2024, following the capsizing of pirogues used in irregular migration. 

Speaking on Monday 19 May, in  Diourbel (central Senegal), between 2014 and 2024, over 71,000 people worldwide have gone missing as a result of irregular migration. In 2024 alone, Senegal recorded 105 recovered bodies from sunken dugout canoes, excluding those still lost at sea.

Inspector General Diagne made the statement during a ceremony in Diourbel to establish regional and departmental committees aimed at tackling irregular migration. He emphasised that the initiative seeks to “territorialise the fight” and actively involve local populations, particularly grassroots community organisations (OCB), in prevention efforts.