No fewer than seven people have perished and a significant number are lost in the wake of a boat ferrying approximately two hundred people seeking to enter European shores capsized near the shoreline of Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Almost 47,000 people made it to the Canaries in 2024 and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway utilized by migrants seeking to get to the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with several North African countries designed to curtailing illegal migration.
