🔗 Share this article Scores Unaccounted For After Craft Holding Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes in waters off the Gambian coast. Authorities located the stricken boat beached on a sandbar, according to statements. A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and many others are lost in the wake of a craft carrying approximately 200 people seeking to enter Europe overturned off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm. The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially. Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were on board the capsized craft that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain. The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers attempting to get to the EU. Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 people have lost their lives trying. Rescue Operation In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, using multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military confirmed. Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked. The bodies of the seven people who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment. An Established Corridor The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants attempting to enter Europe, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land. Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with several North African nations designed to reducing irregular migration.