Numerous People Lost Following Craft Holding Two Hundred Migrants Goes Down off Gambia.
No fewer than seven souls have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred people trying to get to Europe sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Close to 47,000 individuals made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the military reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven victims who drowned have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with several Maghreb states with the goal of limiting irregular migration.
