Scores Lost Following Craft Transporting 200 Migrants Goes Down near the coast of Gambia.
At least seven souls lost their lives and a significant number are missing after a craft transporting around 200 migrants trying to get to European shores sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly 47,000 people made it to the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a common pathway used by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has forged deals with several North African countries aimed at curtailing undocumented migration.
