A minimum of seven people have perished and a significant number are lost following a craft ferrying around two hundred migrants attempting to reach Europe overturned in waters near Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach Europe.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via perilous trips over water and land.
In recent years, the EU has forged deals with a number of North African countries with the goal of limiting illegal migration.
