Numerous People Missing Following Vessel Holding 200 Asylum Seekers Goes Down in waters off the Gambian coast.
No fewer than seven people lost their lives and a significant number are missing in the wake of a craft ferrying about 200 people seeking to enter European shores sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the capsized craft that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces began a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven victims who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach Europe, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has forged deals with a number of North African countries with the goal of curtailing irregular migration.
