Scores Unaccounted For Following Vessel Transporting 200 Migrants Sinks near the coast of The Gambia.
A minimum of seven souls have perished and many others are lost in the wake of a boat transporting around 200 people seeking to enter Europe capsized off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 individuals arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who died have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with several Maghreb states aimed at curtailing irregular migration.
