Scores Missing Following Boat Transporting Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes in waters off The Gambia.
A minimum of seven people have perished and many others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a craft ferrying approximately two hundred migrants trying to get to Europe overturned off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that offered help, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died were found, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants attempting to enter the EU, often on dangerous journeys by sea and land.
In recent years, the EU has reached agreements with multiple North African countries designed to curtailing irregular migration.
