Dozens Unaccounted For Following Vessel Carrying Two Hundred Migrants Sinks off the Gambian coast.
No fewer than seven individuals have perished and numerous others are missing after a vessel ferrying around two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe overturned off the coast of Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach Europe.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest over 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, using a number of military boats and a fishing boat that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven individuals who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states designed to limiting undocumented migration.
