At least seven souls have died and many others remain unaccounted for after a craft carrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe sank off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was heading towards Spain's 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 arrived at the Canaries in 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 people have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a rescue mission, using multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a common pathway taken by migrants seeking to get to Europe, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
Recently, the European Union has established pacts with several North African nations with the goal of curtailing illegal migration.
