At least seven people lost their lives and many others are lost following a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred people seeking to enter the European continent capsized near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the capsized craft that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa seeking entry into European nations.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 people perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy launched a search operation, deploying a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers trying to reach the EU, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African nations designed to curtailing irregular migration.
