A minimum of seven souls have perished and numerous others are missing in the wake of a vessel transporting around 200 people attempting to reach Europe capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into Europe.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in last year and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals have lost their lives in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to European countries, frequently via perilous trips over water and land.
Recently, the European Union has forged deals with multiple Maghreb states aimed at limiting undocumented migration.
