At least seven individuals lost their lives and many others are missing following a boat carrying about two hundred people seeking to enter Europe capsized near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into Europe.
Nearly 47,000 individuals reached the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals have lost their lives during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defense officials said.
Authorities say several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven people who died have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a common pathway taken by migrants trying to reach European countries, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African countries with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
