At least seven people have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a craft ferrying about two hundred migrants trying to get to European shores capsized off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Close to 47,000 individuals reached the Canaries in last year and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say a number of those who died 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 grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a common pathway taken by migrants trying to reach European countries, typically through hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has forged deals with multiple North African nations designed to reducing undocumented migration.
