No fewer than seven individuals have died and a significant number are lost after a vessel carrying approximately two hundred people seeking to enter Europe overturned in waters near the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were traveling on the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers attempting to get to the EU.
Close to 47,000 individuals made it to the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military confirmed.
Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a common pathway utilized by migrants seeking to get to the EU, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of North African nations aimed at reducing undocumented migration.
