Gandiol: 171 migrants stranded at Pilote Bar after five days at sea

A canoe carrying 171 people seeking irregular migration left Gambia on the night of October 15 and ran aground at Pilote Bar in Gandiol, near Saint-Louis, around 7 a.m. on October 20. Bad weather and rough seas ended their journey toward Spain; no deaths were reported, but seven people were taken to Saint-Louis regional hospital. The survivors include 37 Senegalese, 114 Gambians and one Guinean, including 12 children; each passenger reportedly paid between 300,000 and 600,000 CFA francs. Gendarmerie officers seized the canoe and ten 20-litre fuel containers, while two people are being held for the investigation and the alleged smuggler and captain remain missing.