A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number are missing after a vessel carrying approximately 200 migrants trying to get to the European continent overturned off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven individuals who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a common pathway used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states designed to limiting illegal migration.
