Dozens Unaccounted For After Vessel Holding 200 Asylum Seekers Goes Down in waters off Gambia.
No fewer than seven people lost their lives and numerous others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel ferrying approximately 200 people seeking to enter European shores overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Close to 47,000 people reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 people have lost their lives trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a common pathway taken by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has established pacts with a number of North African nations with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
