No fewer than seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel transporting about two hundred people seeking to enter Europe overturned off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates over nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is a frequent corridor used by migrants trying to reach the EU, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of North African nations aimed at curtailing irregular migration.
