A minimum of seven people have died and numerous others are lost after a craft ferrying about 200 people seeking to enter European shores overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the capsized craft that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and estimates over 9,000 people have lost their lives during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy began a rescue mission, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the military confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with several North African nations designed to limiting illegal migration.
