🔗 Share this article Scores Lost Following Vessel Transporting 200 Asylum Seekers Sinks in waters off The Gambia. The capsized craft was discovered aground on a sandbank, authorities say. No fewer than seven souls have died and many others are missing following a vessel carrying approximately 200 migrants seeking to enter the European continent overturned off the coast of The Gambia, reports confirm. The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release. Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands. The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe. Almost forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives during the journey. Ongoing Mission After Wednesday's accident, the navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, using multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the military confirmed. Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified. The bodies of the seven people who died have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention. An Established Corridor Gambia is a common pathway used by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain. In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with multiple North African nations aimed at reducing undocumented migration.