More than 20 bodies were recovered at sea in northern Senegal on Wednesday after the sinking of a migrant boat seeking to reach Europe according to testimonies.

According to the governor of the Saint-Louis region Alioune Badara Samb, a little more than 20 bodies” were found, while around twenty people were rescued.

He did not comment on the number of passengers who were on board the boat initially. But testimonies from survivors collected suggest that a considerable number of people were on board and were therefore missing.

Mamady Dianfo, originally from Casamance in the country’s south, spoke of more than 300 occupants when the boat left the Senegalese coast a week ago.

Senegal is facing a flood of departures by sea to the Canaries, a Spanish archipelago and gateway to Europe.