BANJUL — At least seven people have died and many others are missing after a boat carrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defense ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The accident happened on the Atlantic route used by many West Africans who try to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, a journey known to be extremely dangerous due to overcrowded boats, rough seas and long distances.
For years, poverty, unemployment and political instability in parts of West Africa have pushed thousands to attempt this route, which has claimed many lives in the past and is considered one of the deadliest migrant paths in the world.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and the Spanish non-government organisation Caminando Fronteras estimates more than 9,000 migrants have died trying.
After Wednesday's accident, the Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
The Gambia is increasingly being used by West African migrants and asylum seekers as a launchpad for the crossing to Spain's Canary Islands, and then on to mainland Europe.
In recent years, the European Union has reached agreements with several North African countries aimed at reducing irregular migration, but this has pushed many migrants to take the longer and more dangerous Atlantic Ocean route. — Agencies
