No fewer than seven individuals have died and a significant number are missing following a vessel ferrying about two hundred people seeking to enter the European continent capsized in waters near The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Almost 47,000 individuals made it to the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach Europe, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the EU has established pacts with several North African nations with the goal of reducing undocumented migration.
