Dozens Unaccounted For Following Craft Transporting 200 Asylum Seekers Goes Down off the Gambian coast.
A minimum of seven individuals have died and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a craft ferrying approximately 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe overturned off the coast of Gambia, authorities say.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa seeking entry into Europe.
Close to 47,000 individuals reached the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates over 9,000 people have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, deploying a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who died have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a common pathway taken by migrants seeking to get to European countries, typically through dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with several North African countries with the goal of reducing irregular migration.
