Scores Unaccounted For Following Vessel Transporting 200 Migrants Goes Down near the coast of Gambia.
A minimum of seven people have died and a significant number are missing after a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred people trying to get to the European continent sank off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were aboard the sunken boat that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates over nine thousand individuals have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the military said.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who died have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a common pathway taken by migrants seeking to get to Europe, typically through perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has forged deals with multiple North African nations designed to reducing irregular migration.
