A minimum of seven souls lost their lives and numerous others are missing following a craft ferrying about two hundred people seeking to enter Europe capsized in waters near The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canary Islands in 2024 and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a common pathway utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, often on perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with a number of Maghreb states designed to limiting illegal migration.
