A minimum of seven individuals have died and a significant number are missing after a boat ferrying approximately two hundred migrants trying to get to European shores sank in waters near The Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers seeking entry into Europe.
Almost 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and data indicates over 9,000 people perished in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who perished at sea were found, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers attempting to enter Europe, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states designed to limiting undocumented migration.
