No fewer than seven people have died and many others remain unaccounted for after a craft carrying about two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent overturned near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night close to Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the capsized craft that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa seeking entry into European nations.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants seeking to get to the EU, typically through hazardous voyages by sea and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with multiple North African countries designed to limiting illegal migration.
