Dozens Missing After Boat Transporting Two Hundred Asylum Seekers Capsizes in waters off Gambia.
No fewer than seven individuals have died and many others remain unaccounted for following a craft ferrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe overturned in waters near The Gambia, authorities say.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Close to 47,000 people reached the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and figures suggest over 9,000 people have died in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy initiated a rescue mission, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is a frequent corridor used by migrants seeking to get to Europe, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
In recent years, the EU has established pacts with multiple North African countries aimed at curtailing illegal migration.