Along this route thousands of people have died in recent years trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from west Africa.
An initial statement from the Senegalese interior ministry said 21 bodies and only one survivor had been recovered following the sinking, but that those numbers were provisional as the search continued.
Later on Sunday however, the Senegalese Press Agency (APS) said the toll now stood at 34 at least, a figure confirmed by Action for Human Rights and Friendship (ADHA) in a statement to AFP.
An “indeterminate number” of people were reported missing, APS added.
The toll then rose further on Sunday night to at least 35 with one survivor, according to the emergency services.
“It’s a provisional toll which has been changing since Friday.”
An interior ministry source added: “The toll will unfortunately rise.”
Media reports said the pirogue-type, flat-bottom boat capsized on Saturday off the Loumpoul dunes in Kebemer department, between Dakar and the northern city of Saint-Louis.
However, Saliou Diouf, founder of Senegal’s main migrant aid association Boza Fii, told AFP that the sinking occurred on Friday.
The nationalities of all the victims had not been confirmed as the search continues, he said.
“But the bodies recovered yesterday (Saturday) are Senegalese,” he added.
Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye wrote on Facebook on Sunday: “All state authorities and resources have been mobilised to locate those who have gone missing, provide care for the survivors and support families.”
Thousands of people from West Africa try each year to reach Europe on the perilous Atlantic route.
Senegalese authorities also said they had intercepted 142 migrants on Friday who were on a similar small boat aiming to reach Spain.
The group included 23 women, two babies and two other children, and were from Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria, according to police.
Since the start of November, El Hierro authorities in the Canary Islands said more than 3,300 people had arrived aboard around 30 boats. (AFP)