At least seven individuals have perished and many others are lost after a vessel carrying about two hundred people trying to get to Europe overturned off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Almost 47,000 individuals reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy began a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven people who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, typically through hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with several Maghreb states aimed at reducing irregular migration.
