A minimum of seven individuals have died and a significant number are lost after a boat transporting approximately two hundred migrants trying to get to the European continent sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and data indicates over 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, involving several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry confirmed.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven victims who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter Europe, typically through perilous trips over water and land.
In recent years, the EU has established pacts with a number of North African nations with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
