No fewer than seven people have died and many others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a craft carrying approximately 200 migrants seeking to enter the European continent sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were traveling on the capsized craft that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 people have lost their lives during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military said.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who died have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a frequent corridor used by migrants seeking to get to European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages 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.