A minimum of seven souls have perished and many others are lost in the wake of a boat transporting approximately two hundred migrants attempting to reach the European continent sank off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 people have lost their lives during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy launched a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials confirmed.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants seeking to get to the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the EU has forged deals with a number of North African countries designed to curtailing illegal migration.
