Scores Missing After Boat Carrying Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes off the Gambian coast.
A minimum of seven people lost their lives and a significant number are missing in the wake of a boat ferrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach European shores sank in waters near The Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Canaries in 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals have lost their lives during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by migrants trying to reach European countries, frequently via perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states designed to limiting undocumented migration.
