At least seven souls have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for after a vessel ferrying around two hundred people seeking to enter Europe capsized near the shoreline of Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and figures suggest over 9,000 migrants have died in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces launched a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the military reported.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants attempting to enter Europe, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with several North African nations aimed at limiting irregular migration.
