At least seven individuals have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a craft transporting about two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and data indicates over nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants trying to reach Europe, typically through perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has established pacts with multiple North African nations designed to reducing illegal migration.
