🔗 Share this article Scores Unaccounted For After Boat Holding 200 Migrants Sinks off The Gambia. Authorities located the stricken boat beached on a sandbar, according to statements. No fewer than seven individuals lost their lives and many others remain unaccounted for after a boat ferrying approximately 200 migrants trying to get to European shores overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm. The boat overturned late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release. Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were traveling on the capsized craft that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain. The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe. Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants perished in the attempt. Ongoing Mission After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defense officials said. Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation. The remains of the seven victims who drowned have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment. A Common Migration Route Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants trying to reach European countries, frequently via perilous trips over water and land. Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with multiple North African nations designed to limiting irregular migration.