{"id":4620,"date":"2026-10-16T09:46:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T09:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=4620"},"modified":"2026-10-16T09:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T09:46:21","slug":"at-least-12-dead-after-migrant-boat-sinks-off-gambia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/16\/at-least-12-dead-after-migrant-boat-sinks-off-gambia\/politics\/regional\/","title":{"rendered":"At least 12 dead after migrant boat sinks off Gambia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"645\" height=\"344\" src=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6944.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6944.jpg 645w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6944-300x160.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least 12 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of The Gambia, raising fresh concerns about the dangers facing people attempting to reach Europe through the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Gambia Red Cross Society (GRCS) said on Thursday that the vessel sank near Jinack Kajata in the country\u2019s North Bank region. The migrants were reportedly travelling towards Europe along the West African Atlantic Route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The number of people still missing was unclear, the Red Cross said, adding that rescue and response efforts were continuing in coordination with authorities and partner organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jinack Kajata, a village on Jinack Island, has increasingly become a departure point for migrants attempting the dangerous sea journey to Spain\u2019s Canary Islands, according to Gambian media reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The disaster comes amid growing concern over the risks along the Atlantic migration route, which remains a major pathway for West African migrants despite increased border controls and dangerous sea conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The United Nations\u2019 International Organization for Migration (IOM) said this week that recorded deaths and disappearances along the route remained high even as arrivals in the Canary Islands declined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arrivals fell by 62% between 2024 and 2025, while recorded deaths and disappearances decreased by only 4%, from 1,215 to 1,172, according to the agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The IOM said tighter controls at traditional departure points in Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal had pushed some migrants further south towards countries such as The Gambia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These alternative routes can extend the sea crossing by as much as 750 kilometres, bringing some journeys to approximately 2,200 kilometres, the agency said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Longer crossings expose migrants to extended periods at sea, remote coastlines and increased risks of shipwreck, dehydration and disappearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July, dozens of migrants were reported dead or missing after a boat travelling from The Gambia sank off the coast of Mauritania, underscoring the persistent dangers of the route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest incident adds to concerns that declining arrivals in Europe do not necessarily mean fewer lives are being lost at sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At least 12 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of The Gambia, raising fresh concerns about the dangers facing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,43,41,35,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news","category-current_affairs","category-hot_topics","category-regional","category-top_stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4624,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4620\/revisions\/4624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}