At least seven people have perished and many others are lost in the wake of a boat ferrying around 200 people trying to get to the European continent overturned off the coast of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the capsized craft that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 people have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy launched a rescue mission, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military reported.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven people who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants trying to reach Europe, typically through perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states aimed at curtailing illegal migration.
