A minimum of seven souls have died and a significant number are lost in the wake of a boat ferrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter European shores sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Almost 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven individuals who drowned have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys over water and land.
Recently, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African countries aimed at reducing illegal migration.
