No fewer than seven individuals have perished and numerous others are lost after a vessel ferrying about two hundred people attempting to reach Europe sank in waters near the Gambian coast, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants seeking entry into the EU.
Almost 47,000 individuals reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who died have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway taken by migrants seeking to get to European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European bloc has reached agreements with several Maghreb states aimed at curtailing undocumented migration.
