Numerous People Lost Following Craft Transporting 200 Asylum Seekers Capsizes near the coast of Gambia.
A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a vessel ferrying about 200 migrants seeking to enter European shores sank in waters near The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the capsized craft that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Almost 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canaries in 2024 and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals have died during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy launched a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Officials state some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a common pathway utilized by migrants seeking to get to Europe, often on hazardous voyages over water and land.
Recently, the EU has reached agreements with several Maghreb states with the goal of reducing illegal migration.
