A minimum of seven individuals have died and many others are missing following a boat ferrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach European shores overturned near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Close to 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and figures suggest over 9,000 people perished during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, using multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the military said.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
Recently, the EU has established pacts with a number of Maghreb states designed to curtailing irregular migration.
