No fewer than seven souls have perished and a significant number are lost following a vessel carrying about 200 people seeking to enter Europe overturned in waters near The Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the capsized craft that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 migrants have lost their lives during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy began a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants attempting to enter Europe, often on dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Recently, the EU has forged deals with several North African nations with the goal of limiting irregular migration.
