No fewer than seven individuals have perished and a significant number are lost following a craft ferrying around 200 migrants attempting to reach the European continent overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night near Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in last year and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals have died trying.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that offered help, the defense officials reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, often on hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with several North African nations aimed at limiting illegal migration.
