No fewer than seven individuals have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a boat transporting around two hundred people attempting to reach the European continent capsized off the coast of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a common pathway utilized by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
