At least seven souls have perished and a significant number are lost after a craft ferrying about 200 people attempting to reach the European continent sank off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight near Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa trying to reach European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in the year 2024 and data indicates in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants seeking to get to European countries, often on perilous trips over water and land.
In recent years, the European Union has reached agreements with several North African countries designed to limiting undocumented migration.
