Scores Lost Following Boat Holding 200 Asylum Seekers Goes Down near the coast of The Gambia.
No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and many others are missing after a vessel transporting about 200 migrants seeking to enter the European continent capsized in waters near Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night near Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals have lost their lives in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the military reported.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers attempting to enter Europe, frequently via perilous trips over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with a number of North African nations designed to reducing undocumented migration.