A minimum of seven people lost their lives and numerous others are lost in the wake of a vessel carrying about two hundred people attempting to reach European shores capsized in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 individuals reached the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and data indicates over nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, using multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a frequent corridor used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, often on hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Recently, the European Union has established pacts with several Maghreb states aimed at limiting irregular migration.
