A minimum of seven souls have perished and many others remain unaccounted for following a vessel carrying approximately two hundred migrants attempting to reach the European continent capsized off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals reached the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and data indicates over nine thousand individuals have lost their lives during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a rescue mission, using a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a common pathway utilized by migrants trying to reach Europe, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
In recent years, the EU has established pacts with several Maghreb states with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
