A minimum of seven souls have perished and many others are lost after a craft carrying around 200 people trying to get to the European continent sank in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants have lost their lives trying.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces launched a rescue mission, using multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials confirmed.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach the EU, typically through dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has established pacts with several Maghreb states designed to limiting undocumented migration.
