No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and many others are lost following a boat ferrying around two hundred migrants attempting to reach European shores capsized in waters near The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night near Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations.
Almost 47,000 people made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
In recent years, the EU has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states with the goal of curtailing irregular migration.
