Dozens Unaccounted For After Craft Carrying 200 Asylum Seekers Goes Down in waters off the Gambian coast.

No fewer than seven souls have perished and many others are missing after a craft ferrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe sank in waters near The Gambia, officials state.

The craft flipped late Wednesday night near Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.

96 individuals were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.

The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers attempting to get to Europe.

Close to 47,000 individuals reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals have died during the journey.

Search and Rescue Efforts

After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials said.

Reports indicate several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.

The remains of the seven people who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.

A Frequent Pathway

The Gambia is a common pathway used by migrants trying to reach European countries, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.

Over the past few years, the European Union has forged deals with several North African nations designed to curtailing illegal migration.