No fewer than seven individuals have perished and many others are lost after a vessel transporting about 200 migrants seeking to enter European shores overturned near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African migrants seeking entry into European nations.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, typically through dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states designed to curtailing illegal migration.
