No fewer than seven people have perished and many others are lost following a craft ferrying approximately 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 people perished trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes utilized by migrants trying to reach the EU, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.
Recently, the European bloc has forged deals with multiple North African nations designed to curtailing illegal migration.
