Saliou Diouf, founder of Senegalese migrant aid group Boza Fii, told the AFP news agency that all the bodies recovered by Sunday evening were Senegalese. The nationalities of other people on board was yet to be established, as search operations continued.
Four bodies were recovered on Monday morning in an advanced state of decomposition and buried following a collective funeral prayer organised by the fire service.
Rescue teams are searching along a 25km (15-mile)- stretch of coastline, but operations have been complicated by difficult access and strong ocean currents, which are pushing bodies further south.
Authorities say 24 of the 39 victims have been identified and their bodies returned to their families, while 11 others are still awaiting identification.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and urged Senegalese nationals not to risk their lives on the dangerous sea crossings.
In a statement posted on X, he pledged to intensify efforts to dismantle the networks organising the journeys.
“We will relentlessly continue the fight against those who organise these crossings and the work that gives our young people reasons to hope here,” he said.
The tragedy comes amid renewed concerns over the dangers facing migrant attempting to reach Europe by sea.
Walking Borders estimates that about 21 people died for every 100 who reached the Canary Islands during the period it monitored.
Senegalese authorities said they had intercepted another boat, on Friday, carrying 142 migrants attempting to reach Spain.
Those on board included 23 women, two babies and two other children. Police said the group comprised nationals of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Nigeria.
Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared on the Spanish island of El Hierro on Saturday following a surge in migrant arrivals.
More than 3,300 people have reached the island in about 30 boats since the beginning of November, according to local authorities.
This amounts to almost a third of the population on the island, one of the main entry points into Europe for migrants arriving from West Africa.