No fewer than seven people lost their lives and a significant number are lost in the wake of a vessel ferrying around 200 migrants seeking to enter Europe sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Nearly 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and estimates more than 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who perished at sea have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a common pathway taken by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states aimed at curtailing undocumented migration.
