Numerous People Unaccounted For Following Craft Carrying 200 Migrants Goes Down in waters off Gambia.
No fewer than seven souls have died and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a boat transporting about two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe sank in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the capsized craft that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canary Islands in 2024 and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals have lost their lives during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that offered help, the military confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who died were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys over water and land.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with several North African nations aimed at limiting undocumented migration.
