No fewer than seven people have perished and numerous others are lost following a boat ferrying around 200 migrants trying to get to the European continent overturned in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the military said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by migrants attempting to enter European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the EU has forged deals with several North African nations designed to limiting illegal migration.
