One person was rescued alive, while several others remain missing.
Rescue teams are searching the area for survivors and missing passengers.
According to media reports, Senegal’s Interior Ministry said the boat sank near the coastal town of Kayar, about 180 kilometres north of the capital, Dakar. Rescue teams have recovered 34 bodies from the sea.
The ministry said the passengers were trying to travel to other countries through an irregular migration route. However, officials have not yet confirmed how many people were aboard the boat.
The latest incident is not the first deadly migrant boat accident off Senegal’s coast.
In October 2020, more than 140 people died when a migrant boat sank near Senegal. Another accident off the coast of northern Senegal in February 2024 killed 26 people.
Thousands of migrants have died while attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa in recent years.
According to migrant rights organisation Walking Borders, 635 people died during the first five months of this year while attempting the dangerous journey.
The latest tragedy has again highlighted the risks faced by migrants using dangerous sea routes to reach Europe.