A minimum of seven people lost their lives and a significant number are lost following a vessel ferrying around two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives trying.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has forged deals with multiple North African countries designed to limiting undocumented migration.
