No fewer than seven souls have died and numerous others are missing in the wake of a boat ferrying around 200 people trying to get to European shores overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants seeking entry into the EU.
Close to 47,000 individuals reached the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a frequent corridor used by migrants seeking to get to the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with several North African nations with the goal of limiting irregular migration.
