Dozens Unaccounted For After Vessel Holding 200 Migrants Capsizes near the coast of the Gambian coast.
A minimum of seven souls have perished and a significant number are missing following a boat ferrying about two hundred people trying to get to Europe sank off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach European nations.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canaries in the year 2024 and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the military confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven individuals who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a common pathway used by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, typically through hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of North African countries with the goal of curtailing irregular migration.
