A minimum of seven individuals have perished and many others remain unaccounted for after a vessel ferrying around 200 migrants trying to get to the European continent capsized off the coast of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers seeking entry into European nations.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 people have lost their lives during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, deploying a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the military reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants seeking to get to the EU, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with several Maghreb states aimed at limiting illegal migration.
