No fewer than seven people have perished and many others are missing following a vessel transporting around 200 migrants trying to get to European shores sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa seeking entry into European nations.
Almost 47,000 people reached the Canaries in the year 2024 and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that offered help, the military reported.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants attempting to enter Europe, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states aimed at curtailing undocumented migration.
