At least seven people were confirmed dead, and nearly 100 were rescued after a migrant boat carrying more than 200 people capsized overnight in northwest Gambia, authorities said on Wednesday.
The vessel ran aground on a sandbank near a village in the North Bank Region as it attempted to navigate the Atlantic route used by West African migrants travelling to Europe, officials said.
Rescue operations were launched by the Gambian Defence Ministry, which deployed three naval speedboats, a coastal patrol vessel and worked with local fishermen who volunteered a canoe to assist.
Authorities said 96 survivors were pulled from the water, with 10 in critical condition receiving urgent medical treatment. Search and rescue efforts were continuing, with dozens of passengers still unaccounted for.
The route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands is one of the world’s deadliest migration corridors. More than 46,000 migrants reached the islands in 2024, while around 10,000 were reported to have died at sea, according to migration groups. Arrivals fell sharply in 2025 after tighter controls and cooperation between departure countries and the European Union, though fatalities have continued.
The latest incident follows a similar tragedy in August 2025, when at least 70 Gambian migrants drowned after their boat capsized.
Gambian authorities said they would intensify coastal patrols and strengthen regional cooperation to prevent further loss of life, while rights groups have renewed calls for safer and legal migration pathways.
