Dozens Missing After Migrant Boat Sinks Off Gambia

Desperate Search After Boat Carrying 200 Migrants Capsizes

By Julian Rossi

Banjul — Fishermen off Barra Point spotted the first body drifting in the grey dawn, a reminder that the Atlantic keeps its own count. By noon on Monday, Gambian navy crews had recovered 11 survivors and confirmed one death after a wooden pirogue packed with an estimated 200 men, women and children cracked under heavy swells and slipped beneath the surface some 25 kilometres west of the river-stained coastline.

‘We Heard Screams, Then Nothing’

Captain Lamin Jarju, skipper of the trawler Ndey Mariama, was hauling sardines when he heard cries carried on the wind. "We steamed toward the sound, but the boat was gone," he told reporters, salt still crusted on his forearms. "Only debris—oil, jerry-cans, a single flip-flop—floating like breadcrumbs."

"Every minute counts. The water is 19 °C; hypothermia sets in fast."
— Commander Abdoulie Sowe, Gambia Naval Unit

Relatives Keep Vigil at Port

At Banjul’s crumbling wharf, hundreds pressed against a cordon of tired policemen, scanning the horizon for rescue skiffs. Awa Jallow, 34, clutched her brother’s passport photo, its lamination bubbled from sweat. "He left at night, said Europe would pay for Mother’s surgery," she whispered. "Now I just want him home, even if it’s only his body."

Route of Last Resort

The ill-fated vessel is believed to have departed from Barra on Friday, aiming for the Canary Islands—an increasingly popular but treacherous jump-off point for West Africans escaping shrinking harvests and political unrest. UN data show migrant departures from Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia up 54 % this year, despite patrols funded by Spain and the EU border agency Frontex.

What We Know So Far

• 200 passengers estimated aboard 25-metre pirogue
• 11 survivors rescued; 1 body recovered
• Dozens still missing, feared trapped below deck
• Gambia navy, Spanish aircraft and Senegalese volunteers in joint search
• Weather deteriorating; 2-metre swells hamper divers

‘They Are Not Numbers’

Interior Minister Seyaka Sonko broke down briefly while addressing journalists. "These sons and daughters of our soil left because they saw no future here," he said, voice cracking. "If we fail to create opportunity at home, the ocean will keep demanding payment in blood."

The government has declared three days of national mourning and promised an inquiry, though past probes have rarely produced prosecutions against the smuggling networks that cram migrants into unseaworthy hulls for fees reaching 2,000 euros per head.

International Reaction

Spain’s foreign office pledged additional satellite imagery and a patrol vessel already stationed in Dakar. The UN’s migration agency IOM released emergency funds for family tracing and psychological support, while Amnesty International called for "safe, legal pathways" to undercut traffickers.

"We cannot police our way out of desperation. Legal labour mobility saves lives."
— Eva Sandoval, IOM spokesperson

What Happens Next

Search teams will work until sunset, racing an approaching squall line. If past tragedies are any guide, hopes of finding more survivors dim after 48 hours. Back on the dock, Awa Jallow refuses to leave. "I will wait until the tide brings him," she said, eyes fixed on the darkening water.