Scores Missing After Craft Carrying 200 Migrants Goes Down near the coast of the Gambian coast.
A minimum of seven souls lost their lives and a significant number are lost after a vessel transporting approximately two hundred people trying to get to Europe sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety 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 the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers seeking entry into European nations.
Almost 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy initiated a search operation, using multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven victims who perished at sea have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with multiple North African nations designed to curtailing irregular migration.
