No fewer than seven people have died and a significant number are missing after a vessel ferrying about two hundred migrants attempting to reach European shores overturned near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach Europe.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and figures suggest over 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Officials state several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven individuals who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach Europe, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with a number of North African countries with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
