Scores Missing Following Vessel Transporting Two Hundred Migrants Sinks off The Gambia.
No fewer than seven people lost their lives and many others are missing following a boat ferrying around 200 people trying to get to the European continent sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Nearly 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants have lost their lives during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that offered help, the military reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway used by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages over water and land.
In recent years, the European Union has forged deals with a number of North African nations with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
