At least seven people have perished and numerous others are lost after a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred people trying to get to European shores sank near the shoreline of Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 individuals reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who died were found, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes used by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages by sea and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of North African nations with the goal of limiting illegal migration.
