Numerous People Unaccounted For After Craft Transporting 200 Migrants Sinks in waters off The Gambia.
At least seven souls have perished and numerous others are missing after a boat transporting approximately two hundred people attempting to reach European shores sank off the coast of Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach Europe.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy began a search operation, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who died were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach the EU, often on hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with several North African nations designed to limiting irregular migration.