A minimum of seven souls have died and a significant number are missing following a boat transporting about two hundred people seeking to enter European shores capsized near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with several Maghreb states designed to limiting undocumented migration.
