No fewer than seven individuals have perished and numerous others are lost following a boat ferrying approximately 200 migrants trying to get to Europe sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants seeking entry into European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the military reported.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants seeking to get to the EU, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
