A minimum of seven individuals have died and a significant number are missing after a vessel carrying about two hundred migrants attempting to reach European shores capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the capsized craft that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates over nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a rescue mission, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defense officials said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven victims who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a common pathway utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with several Maghreb states aimed at limiting illegal migration.
