A minimum of seven people have perished and many others are lost after a boat transporting about two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent sank off the coast of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants trying to reach European nations.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Canaries in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces began a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Officials state several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who died have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by migrants seeking to get to Europe, often on dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states aimed at limiting illegal migration.
