A minimum of seven people have died and many others are lost following a boat ferrying about 200 people attempting to reach the European continent overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defense officials said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a common pathway utilized by migrants seeking to get to the EU, typically through hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has forged deals with several Maghreb states aimed at reducing illegal migration.
