Scores Unaccounted For Following Vessel Transporting Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes in waters off Gambia.

A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and numerous others are missing after a vessel carrying around 200 people trying to get to Europe overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.

The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.

Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.

The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants trying to reach Europe.

Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates over nine thousand individuals have died in the attempt.

Ongoing Mission

Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry confirmed.

Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.

The bodies of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.

An Established Corridor

Gambia is a common pathway utilized by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.

Recently, the EU has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states designed to reducing irregular migration.