No fewer than seven people have perished and numerous others are missing after a boat transporting approximately 200 people trying to get to Europe capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers attempting to get to the EU.
Close to 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants trying to reach European countries, frequently via perilous trips by sea and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with several Maghreb states designed to curtailing irregular migration.
