Numerous People Lost Following Boat Carrying 200 Migrants Goes Down off Gambia.
At least seven individuals lost their lives and many others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a boat carrying around two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers attempting to get to the EU.
Almost 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy began a search operation, deploying a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Officials state several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven people who drowned have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants trying to reach Europe, frequently via perilous trips by sea and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has reached agreements with a number of North African countries aimed at curtailing illegal migration.
