No fewer than seven people have died and many others remain unaccounted for following a boat transporting around 200 migrants trying to get to European shores capsized off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in last year and estimates over 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defence ministry said.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven people who died were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is a frequent corridor used by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, often on hazardous voyages over water and land.
In recent years, the European Union has reached agreements with multiple North African nations designed to limiting illegal migration.
