No fewer than seven souls have perished and a significant number are lost following a boat transporting about 200 people seeking to enter Europe capsized off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in 2024 and figures suggest in excess of nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who died have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a common pathway used by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, typically through dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the EU has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states designed to limiting irregular migration.
