At least seven individuals have perished and many others are lost after a craft transporting about 200 people attempting to reach the European continent sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Close to 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 people perished in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven people who perished at sea have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, often on hazardous voyages over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with multiple North African countries with the goal of curtailing illegal migration.
