At least seven people have perished and a significant number are missing after a craft ferrying around 200 migrants trying to get to Europe sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants seeking entry into European nations.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates over nine thousand individuals have died in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, deploying a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who perished at sea have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a common pathway utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, often on hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has forged deals with multiple Maghreb states with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
