At least seven souls have perished and many others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel carrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent sank off the coast of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Almost 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a rescue mission, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that offered help, the military reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven people who perished at sea were found, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor used by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the EU has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states with the goal of reducing undocumented migration.
