A minimum of seven people have died and many others are lost following a vessel carrying around 200 people seeking to enter the European continent overturned near the shoreline of Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into European nations.
Close to 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants attempting to enter European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with several North African nations with the goal of limiting illegal migration.
