A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number are missing in the wake of a vessel transporting around two hundred people attempting to reach the European continent capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals made it to the Canaries in 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Authorities say several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
In recent years, the European Union has reached agreements with multiple North African countries with the goal of reducing illegal migration.
