A minimum of seven people have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel transporting around 200 people seeking to enter European shores overturned off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven people who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants seeking to get to the EU, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with several North African nations designed to limiting undocumented migration.
