No fewer than seven individuals have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a vessel transporting about two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent overturned in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa seeking entry into European nations.
Close to 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and data indicates over 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the military said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is one of the routes used by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states with the goal of reducing irregular migration.
