No fewer than seven souls have died and many others are missing in the wake of a craft carrying about two hundred migrants trying to get to the European continent sank near the shoreline of Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Officials state some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants trying to reach Europe, often on hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with a number of North African nations designed to curtailing illegal migration.
