At least seven souls have perished and many others are missing in the wake of a craft ferrying around 200 people attempting to reach European shores sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Close to 47,000 individuals made it to the Canary Islands in the year 2024 and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military confirmed.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a frequent corridor taken by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via perilous trips over water and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of Maghreb states designed to curtailing illegal migration.
