No fewer than seven people lost their lives and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a craft ferrying around two hundred migrants trying to get to the European continent overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to Europe.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, the navy launched a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, typically through perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with a number of Maghreb states aimed at reducing undocumented migration.
