No fewer than seven people have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred people attempting to reach European shores sank near the shoreline of Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants seeking entry into European nations.
Close to 47,000 individuals reached the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy began a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by migrants attempting to enter Europe, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African countries with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
