No fewer than seven souls have perished and a significant number are missing in the wake of a vessel carrying approximately 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa trying to reach European nations.
Close to 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals have died trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defense officials confirmed.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers trying to reach Europe, often on hazardous voyages over water and land.
Recently, the European Union has established pacts with a number of Maghreb states designed to curtailing illegal migration.
