At least seven individuals have perished and numerous others are lost following a vessel transporting approximately 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized off the coast of Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 people made it to the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, deploying a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, typically through hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with several North African countries designed to limiting illegal migration.
