A minimum of seven souls lost their lives and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a vessel ferrying around two hundred people trying to get to European shores capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were traveling on 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 migrants from Africa attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the military reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven victims who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, typically through perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with multiple North African countries with the goal of reducing illegal migration.
