At least seven souls have perished and many others remain unaccounted for following a vessel carrying approximately two hundred migrants attempting to reach the European continent overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach Europe.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and figures suggest over 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defense officials said.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants seeking to get to European countries, typically through hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of North African nations designed to limiting undocumented migration.
