No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and many others are missing after a boat ferrying about 200 migrants seeking to enter the European continent overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Canaries in last year and estimates in excess of 9,000 people perished trying.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defense officials said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants trying to reach Europe, frequently via perilous trips over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of North African countries with the goal of curtailing illegal migration.
