A minimum of seven souls have perished and many others remain unaccounted for after a vessel transporting about 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized near the shoreline of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach European nations.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces began a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven people who drowned were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants seeking to get to European countries, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with a number of North African nations aimed at limiting undocumented migration.
