At least seven souls have died and many others remain unaccounted for following a vessel carrying approximately 200 migrants seeking to enter the European continent overturned off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who perished at sea were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a common pathway used by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African countries with the goal of reducing undocumented migration.
