🔗 Share this article Dozens Lost Following Boat Holding Two Hundred Migrants Sinks near the coast of Gambia. Authorities located the stricken boat stranded on a shoal, according to statements. A minimum of seven people have perished and numerous others are lost in the wake of a vessel carrying about two hundred migrants attempting to reach European shores overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, officials state. The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially. 96 individuals have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were aboard 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 seeking entry into European nations. Almost 47,000 individuals reached the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates over nine thousand individuals have died trying. Search and Rescue Efforts In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military confirmed. Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified. The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment. A Frequent Pathway Gambia is a common pathway taken by migrants attempting to enter European countries, often on dangerous journeys by sea and land. Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with a number of North African countries designed to limiting illegal migration.