A minimum of seven people have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for after a vessel ferrying about two hundred people attempting to reach Europe overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 individuals reached the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 people have died in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the EU has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states aimed at limiting irregular migration.
