A minimum of seven people have died and many others are lost after a boat ferrying around two hundred migrants trying to get to Europe capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly 47,000 individuals reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing boat that offered help, the defense officials reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants seeking to get to European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European bloc has forged deals with multiple North African nations with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
