A minimum of seven individuals have died and numerous others remain unaccounted for after a vessel transporting about 200 people attempting to reach Europe capsized near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 people perished during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven victims who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with several North African countries with the goal of limiting irregular migration.
