2002 — The Le Joola Tragedy

On September 26, 2002, the Senegalese ferry MV Le Joola capsized off the coast of The Gambia while sailing from Ziguinchor to Dakar. The state-owned vessel was designed to carry about 536 passengers but was packed with roughly 2,000 people; only 64 survived. With 1,863 confirmed dead, it is one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history.

Overloading, rough seas, and a delayed rescue response all contributed; the ferry sank within minutes after capsizing in a storm. The disaster devastated the Casamance region, which relied on the ferry as its main link to Dakar, and it remains a national trauma in Senegal — deadlier than the Titanic, yet far less remembered around the world.