Dozens Missing After Craft Holding 200 Asylum Seekers Goes Down off The Gambia.
At least seven souls have died and many others are lost after a craft transporting around 200 migrants attempting to reach European shores sank in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Canaries in 2024 and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven victims who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the EU has established pacts with several North African countries aimed at limiting irregular migration.
