A minimum of seven souls lost their lives and numerous others are missing after a vessel carrying around 200 people trying to get to Europe capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly 47,000 people arrived at the Canaries in last year and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, deploying a number of military boats and a fishing boat that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven individuals who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers trying to reach the EU, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African countries designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
