No fewer than seven individuals have died and numerous others are lost after a craft carrying about two hundred people attempting to reach the European continent overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates over 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven individuals who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states with the goal of limiting irregular migration.
