At least seven people have died and numerous others remain unaccounted for after a boat carrying about two hundred migrants attempting to reach the European continent sank off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates over 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces began a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who perished at sea were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with multiple North African nations designed to limiting undocumented migration.
