At least seven individuals have died and numerous others are missing after a craft transporting approximately 200 migrants seeking to enter Europe sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight near Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals have lost their lives during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy began a rescue mission, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a common pathway taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.
Recently, the European bloc has established pacts with multiple North African nations aimed at reducing illegal migration.
