No fewer than seven individuals have died and a significant number are lost after a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred migrants attempting to reach European shores sank in waters near The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, deploying a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defense officials said.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who perished at sea have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants attempting to enter European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with multiple North African nations with the goal of reducing illegal migration.
