No fewer than seven people have died and many others are missing following a craft carrying around 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and estimates over 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy began a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the military reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who perished at sea have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with a number of Maghreb states designed to reducing irregular migration.
