Senegal navy intercepts nearly 80 migrants off coast

Dakar: Senegal has intercepted a boat carrying nearly 80 migrants from West Africa, the army said Tuesday, hours before the Spanish Prime Minister was...

Dakar: Senegal has intercepted a boat carrying nearly 80 migrants from West Africa, the army said Tuesday, hours before the Spanish Prime Minister was set to visit the region in the face of a surge in migrant arrivals.

The 76 people, including six women and seven children, were stopped by a Senegalese Navy patrol boat 80 kilometres (50 miles) off the coast of the capital Dakar on Monday evening, the Armed Forces Public Relations Directorate (DIRPA) posted on X.

The passengers aboard the intercepted vessel included 55 Senegalese, 11 Guineans, seven Gambians, two Malians and one national from Guinea-Bissau, DIRPA said.

The interception took place just hours before the start of a three-day visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to Mauritania, The Gambia and Senegal -- three key countries in the migration crisis.

Sanchez is due to arrive in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott on Tuesday afternoon.