No fewer than seven people have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a craft transporting approximately 200 migrants trying to get to European shores overturned in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense 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 bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 people have lost their lives trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defense officials confirmed.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers trying to reach the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has forged deals with a number of North African countries with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
