At least seven individuals lost their lives and numerous others remain unaccounted for after a boat carrying around two hundred people attempting to reach Europe sank off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers seeking entry into Europe.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and estimates over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy began a search operation, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who died were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, typically through hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with a number of North African nations with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
