At least seven people have perished and many others are lost after a craft transporting about two hundred migrants trying to get to European shores capsized in waters near The Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa seeking entry into the EU.
Almost 47,000 individuals reached the Spanish archipelago in last year and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, typically through dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the EU has reached agreements with several North African nations aimed at reducing illegal migration.
