No fewer than seven souls have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a vessel ferrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, authorities say.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy launched a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven individuals who drowned have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a common pathway utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, often on dangerous journeys by sea and land.
In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with several Maghreb states with the goal of reducing illegal migration.
