No fewer than seven people lost their lives and many others are lost following a boat ferrying approximately 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe sank in waters near Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in last year and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy launched a search operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is one of the routes used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, typically through perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with several North African countries with the goal of curtailing illegal migration.
