At least seven individuals have died and numerous others are missing in the wake of a boat carrying approximately two hundred people trying to get to Europe overturned off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, deploying a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a common pathway utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via perilous trips over water and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has forged deals with several Maghreb states aimed at curtailing illegal migration.
