A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and many others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a boat carrying around two hundred people seeking to enter European shores sank off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach Europe.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a frequent corridor utilized by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with multiple North African nations aimed at reducing undocumented migration.
