At least seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number are missing after a vessel transporting about 200 migrants attempting to reach the European continent sank off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 people perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who perished at sea have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to European countries, typically through dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of North African countries designed to reducing irregular migration.
