A minimum of seven individuals have perished and a significant number are lost after a craft carrying about 200 people attempting to reach the European continent overturned near the shoreline of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the capsized craft that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Close to 47,000 individuals made it to the Canaries in 2024 and estimates more than nine thousand individuals have died in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy began a search operation, deploying a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the military said.
Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys over water and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has reached agreements with multiple North African countries designed to curtailing illegal migration.
