A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number are lost following a boat carrying about 200 people seeking to enter the European continent sank in waters near the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for those still missing who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants seeking entry into European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates over 9,000 people perished trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who died were found, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is one of the routes used by migrants seeking to get to Europe, typically through perilous trips over water and land.
Recently, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
