At least seven souls have died and many others are missing following a vessel carrying approximately 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized off the coast of Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, typically through dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Recently, the EU has established pacts with multiple North African countries with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
