The
Ministry of Youth and Sports has joined President Adama Barrow and the entire
people of The Gambia in expressing its great shock and sadness at the tragic
events that have befallen Gambian youth on a tragic boat accident off the coast
of Mauritania on December 4, 2019.
According
to reports, the boat said to be carrying 195 people departed the coast of The
Gambia on November 27, 2019, in Barra, North Bank Region. It’s now been
confirmed that 63 of them are dead and 11 among them are women.
The
ministry said it regret and mourn the death of these young people, describing
their death as an irreplaceable loss to The Gambia and her people.
The
Ministry added that it is committed to the empowerment and development of
Gambian youth and will continue to work with development partners to provide
enough opportunity for our young people.
He
urged young people to take advantage of the opportunities provided to them by
the government through the ministry and its satellite institutions and other
youth projects.
“The
ministry through its satellite institution will scale-up its advocacy on
irregular migration and safe alternative of migration”, it said.
The
ministry expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of departed souls and
prayed for Allah to give them the strength to accept this great loss; not only
to the affected families but the entire nation.
The
ministry went further to reaffirm the government’s commitment to investigate
the incident and ensure the safe return of survivors.
