🔗 Share this article Dozens Unaccounted For Following Boat Holding Two Hundred Migrants Goes Down near the coast of Gambia. The capsized craft was discovered beached on a sandbar, officials report. At least seven people lost their lives and many others remain unaccounted for following a boat carrying around two hundred migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized in waters near Gambia, authorities say. The craft flipped late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities announced officially. Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain. The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers attempting to get to Europe. Almost forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and figures suggest in excess of nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying. Rescue Operation After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces launched a search-and-rescue operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials reported. Reports indicate a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked. The deceased of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care. An Established Corridor This West African nation is a frequent corridor taken by migrants seeking to get to European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land. Recently, the European bloc has reached agreements with a number of North African nations with the goal of limiting irregular migration.