No fewer than seven individuals have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a boat carrying about 200 migrants trying to get to European shores overturned in waters near The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations.
Almost 47,000 individuals arrived at the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants trying to reach Europe, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states with the goal of reducing irregular migration.
