A minimum of seven souls have perished and many others remain unaccounted for following a vessel transporting around 200 migrants trying to get to European shores capsized in waters near The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the capsized craft that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defense officials reported.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European bloc has reached agreements with several Maghreb states designed to limiting illegal migration.
