At least seven individuals have perished and many others are missing after a craft ferrying about two hundred people attempting to reach Europe overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers attempting to get to the EU.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Spanish archipelago in last year and estimates over 9,000 people perished in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search-and-rescue operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven people who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to European countries, frequently via hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states with the goal of limiting illegal migration.
