No fewer than seven individuals lost their lives and many others are missing following a vessel transporting approximately two hundred people trying to get to European shores overturned near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 people have lost their lives trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven individuals who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in grave health 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, typically through dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of North African nations designed to curtailing irregular migration.
