No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and many others are missing in the wake of a boat ferrying approximately 200 people trying to get to European shores overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 migrants have died in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants attempting to enter Europe, frequently via hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with multiple North African countries designed to limiting illegal migration.
