Numerous People Missing After Craft Holding Two Hundred Migrants Sinks in waters off the Gambian coast.
A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and many others remain unaccounted for following a vessel ferrying approximately 200 people seeking to enter Europe overturned in waters near Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 migrants have lost their lives trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is a frequent corridor used by migrants seeking to get to European countries, often on dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with several Maghreb states aimed at reducing irregular migration.
