In a boat accident Gambia According to government figures, at least 31 people drowned while trying to escape on New Year’s Eve. “Many more people are missing and presumed dead,” said President Adama Barrow. 15 bodies were recovered in Gambia and 16 more in neighboring Senegal.
The boat carrying more than 200 migrants got into distress near the North Bank region on the night of December 31st to January 1st. The Gambian navy launched a search for survivors after midnight, involving several ships and a fishing boat. 102 boat occupants were rescued, 23 of whom were hospitalized.
The wrecked ship was later found on a sandbank. How the accident happened was initially unclear. The incident was a “painful reminder of the dangerous and life-threatening nature of irregular migration,” Barrow said last week.
The route off West Africa is one of the most dangerous escape routes
Thousands of migrants have been trying to cross the Atlantic from West Africa for years to the Canary Islands to come. Due to stricter controls off the coast of the SenegalMauritania and Morocco, the departure of boats has increasingly shifted further south towards Gambia and Guinea. As a result, travel times have continued to increase. The route along the West African coast in the Atlantic Ocean is considered one of the most dangerous routes for migrants in the world.
In August are at least 70 people diedafter their boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania en route from Gambia. In a similar incident in July 2024, several people also died and 150 are missing.
