No fewer than seven individuals have died and many others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel transporting approximately 200 people seeking to enter European shores capsized in waters near The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven people who drowned were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants attempting to enter Europe, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has reached agreements with several North African countries with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
