No fewer than seven souls have perished and many others are lost after a vessel transporting about 200 people trying to get to the European continent sank in waters near The Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Nearly 47,000 individuals made it to the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a search operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven people who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor used by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with multiple North African nations designed to curtailing irregular migration.
