At least seven souls have died and many others are missing in the wake of a boat carrying around 200 people attempting to reach European shores overturned near the shoreline of The Gambia, authorities say.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards 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 Europe.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canaries in 2024 and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals have died in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy began a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states with the goal of reducing irregular migration.
