At least seven souls have died and a significant number are lost following a vessel carrying around 200 migrants attempting to reach European shores capsized in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants trying to reach the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defense officials said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with several Maghreb states designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
