A minimum of seven souls lost their lives and a significant number are lost in the wake of a boat ferrying around 200 migrants trying to get to the European continent capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, using multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway used by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states aimed at curtailing undocumented migration.
