No fewer than seven people have died and many others are lost in the wake of a craft carrying around 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe overturned in waters near Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and estimates over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military said.
Authorities say several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway used by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with multiple North African countries designed to reducing irregular migration.
