Numerous People Unaccounted For After Craft Carrying 200 Migrants Goes Down off The Gambia.
No fewer than seven people have perished and many others are missing in the wake of a craft carrying approximately 200 migrants seeking to enter Europe capsized off the coast of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers seeking entry into European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canary Islands in 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven people who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to Europe, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.
In recent years, the EU has forged deals with several Maghreb states with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
