21 dead as boat capsizes in Senegal

Dakar : Twenty-one people died when a boat capsized in a Senegal delta region popular with tourists, firefighters told AFP on Tuesday, adding that the vast majority who lost their lives were women.

The incident occurred on Monday night, with the traditional flat-bottomed boat overturning off Bettenty, an island area just north of The Gambia, with 72 on board.

All except two present were women, said Commander Oumar Kane, a senior firefighting official, who gave an initial death toll of 20 people on Tuesday morning.

"The body of one missing person has been found," Kane told AFP, bringing the toll to 21 dead. Another 51 people had been rescued, he added.

The boat capsized as the women were on their way to look for seafood, he said. The incident occurred in a coastal area well known for delicacies like oysters, where tourists flock in large numbers.

Bettenty is an island area in the Saloum delta where such boats, known as pirogues, are often used for travelling between the mangroves and from one islet to another. 

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, Kane said. 

L'Observateur daily said the boat had capsized in high winds, while other newspapers said it had foundered because it was overloaded. Senegalese radio station RFM said some of the women were pregnant.

Meanwhile Senegal's official APS news agency reported that Fisheries Minister Oumar Gueye was en route to the site of the tragedy to present the government's condolences.