Twenty children were among the 421 people picked up by a naval offshore patrol vessel on Monday, it said on social media.

The navy did not say where it stopped the two large motorised open canoes known as pirogues, or what nationality the people onboard were.

On Sunday, a pirogue "involved in irregular emigration" capsized off the coast of the western town of Mbour, the navy said on Monday.

At least nine people died and others were missing.

Several people in Mbour had said that the boat was carrying dozens of passengers but AFP was unable to verify this.

The victims who could be identified were mostly from Mbour, a large fishing port, the APS Senegalese news agency quoted local official Amadou Diop as saying.

Senegal's coasts are one of the main departure points for thousands of migrants heading to Europe.

The Atlantic route is particularly perilous due to the strong currents, with thousands of deaths and disappearances every year on overloaded, often unseaworthy boats.

Over 22,000 migrants have already landed in Spain's Canary Islands so far this year, more than double the number from the previous year.