Dozens Missing Following Craft Holding 200 Migrants Goes Down near the coast of the Gambian coast.
A minimum of seven people lost their lives and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a vessel carrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent overturned near the shoreline of Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 people perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, using multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states designed to reducing undocumented migration.
