A minimum of seven souls have perished and numerous others are lost following a vessel carrying about 200 migrants seeking to enter European shores overturned near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants trying to reach European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Recently, the EU has forged deals with a number of North African countries with the goal of curtailing illegal migration.
