At least seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a craft ferrying about two hundred migrants trying to get to European shores sank off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and data indicates over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that offered help, the defense officials reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants trying to reach the EU, often on perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the EU has established pacts with several North African nations designed to limiting irregular migration.
