A minimum of seven souls have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a boat ferrying around two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe capsized off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canaries in the year 2024 and data indicates over 9,000 people have lost their lives during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who died were found, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants attempting to enter the EU, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European bloc has forged deals with multiple Maghreb states aimed at reducing undocumented migration.
