A minimum of seven souls have died and a significant number are lost after a boat transporting approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter European shores overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Canaries in 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces began a search-and-rescue operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven individuals who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to Europe, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with multiple North African nations aimed at limiting illegal migration.
