No fewer than seven people have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a boat ferrying around two hundred people seeking to enter Europe overturned near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Almost 47,000 people reached the Canaries in 2024 and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the military reported.
Authorities say some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is a common pathway utilized by migrants seeking to get to European countries, frequently via perilous trips by sea and land.
Recently, the European Union has established pacts with several North African nations with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
