At least seven individuals have perished and a significant number are lost after a vessel ferrying around two hundred people trying to get to the European continent overturned near the shoreline of Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach European nations.
Nearly 47,000 individuals reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a common pathway used by migrants attempting to enter the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with several Maghreb states with the goal of reducing undocumented migration.
