🔗 Share this article Numerous People Unaccounted For Following Vessel Holding 200 Migrants Sinks off The Gambia. Authorities located the stricken boat beached on a sandbar, according to statements. A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number are missing following a craft ferrying about two hundred migrants attempting to reach the European continent overturned in waters near Gambia, reports confirm. The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release. Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain. The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa seeking entry into European nations. Nearly 47,000 individuals reached the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and figures suggest over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives during the journey. Ongoing Mission Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defense officials confirmed. Reports indicate a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified. The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention. A Frequent Pathway Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants seeking to get to Europe, often on perilous trips by sea and land. In recent years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.