At least seven individuals have died and numerous others are missing following a vessel ferrying about two hundred migrants trying to get to Europe overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants seeking to get to Europe, frequently via hazardous voyages over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with multiple North African countries with the goal of curtailing irregular migration.
