At least seven people have perished and numerous others are missing in the wake of a vessel ferrying around 200 people seeking to enter the European continent capsized near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Almost 47,000 people made it to the Canary Islands in 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 people perished trying.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to Europe, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with multiple North African nations designed to curtailing irregular migration.
