No fewer than seven people have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a boat transporting around two hundred people trying to get to the European continent sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people 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 the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Close to 47,000 people reached the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy initiated a search operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, typically through hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the EU has forged deals with a number of North African countries with the goal of reducing undocumented migration.
