A minimum of seven individuals have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a craft transporting around two hundred migrants trying to get to the European continent sank in waters near the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Close to 47,000 individuals made it to the Canaries in 2024 and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy began a search operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defense officials said.
Officials state a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who drowned were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states aimed at limiting illegal migration.
