Dozens Lost After Craft Carrying Two Hundred Migrants Goes Down near the coast of Gambia.
A minimum of seven people lost their lives and numerous others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel transporting approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe capsized off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa trying to reach European nations.
Nearly 47,000 individuals reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest over 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy launched a rescue mission, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the military reported.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven victims who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants attempting to enter Europe, often on hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with a number of Maghreb states designed to reducing irregular migration.
