A minimum of seven individuals have died and many others are missing in the wake of a boat ferrying around two hundred migrants attempting to reach Europe sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night close to Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants trying to reach European nations.
Close to 47,000 individuals reached the Canaries in last year and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, often on hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states designed to reducing illegal migration.
