At least seven individuals have perished and numerous others are lost after a boat ferrying about 200 people attempting to reach Europe sank in waters near Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military confirmed.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven victims who drowned were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a common pathway used by migrants seeking to get to Europe, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European Union has established pacts with several Maghreb states designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
