No fewer than seven people have died and a significant number are lost after a craft ferrying around two hundred people attempting to reach Europe capsized in waters near the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 people perished trying.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search-and-rescue operation, deploying a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who died were found, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a common pathway used by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with several Maghreb states with the goal of limiting illegal migration.
