At least seven souls lost their lives and numerous others remain unaccounted for after a craft ferrying around two hundred migrants trying to get to the European continent overturned near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were on board the sunken boat that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants seeking entry into the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy launched a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven people who died have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with a number of North African nations aimed at limiting undocumented migration.
