At least seven individuals have perished and a significant number are lost after a craft ferrying around 200 migrants seeking to enter the European continent sank in waters near Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals have died in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces launched a rescue mission, deploying a number of military boats and a fishing boat that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by migrants attempting to enter European countries, often on perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has reached agreements with several Maghreb states with the goal of reducing undocumented migration.
