A minimum of seven individuals have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a vessel carrying approximately 200 migrants seeking to enter European shores sank in waters near Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Close to 47,000 people arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 people perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants trying to reach the EU, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.
In recent years, the European Union has forged deals with multiple North African countries with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
