Numerous People Lost After Craft Carrying Two Hundred Migrants Goes Down off The Gambia.
No fewer than seven people have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a craft transporting around 200 migrants trying to get to European shores overturned off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Close to 47,000 individuals reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 migrants have died in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who died were found, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a common pathway used by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states aimed at curtailing illegal migration.
