At least seven individuals have died and many others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a craft transporting about 200 migrants trying to get to European shores overturned in waters near The Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 people have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven individuals who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants attempting to enter Europe, often on hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with several North African countries designed to reducing illegal migration.
