Dozens Lost Following Vessel Transporting Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes in waters off the Gambian coast.
At least seven people have perished and a significant number are lost after a boat carrying about two hundred people seeking to enter European shores sank in waters near Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly 47,000 individuals made it to the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 people have died trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is one of the routes used by asylum seekers trying to reach the EU, typically through hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has forged deals with multiple North African countries aimed at curtailing undocumented migration.
