No fewer than seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a vessel carrying around two hundred people attempting to reach Europe sank off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 people have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy began a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the military said.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway utilized by migrants trying to reach the EU, often on dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states with the goal of curtailing irregular migration.
