Scores Missing Following Boat Holding 200 Asylum Seekers Capsizes near the coast of Gambia.

A minimum of seven people have perished and numerous others are lost in the wake of a vessel transporting about two hundred people seeking to enter the European continent capsized near the shoreline of Gambia, authorities say.

The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry announced officially.

Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.

The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach the EU.

Nearly 47,000 people arrived at the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates over 9,000 people have died trying.

Ongoing Mission

In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy launched a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.

Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.

The remains of the seven people who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.

An Established Corridor

The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.

In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with multiple North African countries aimed at reducing illegal migration.