At least seven individuals have died and numerous others remain unaccounted for after a craft transporting around two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe overturned off the coast of Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities 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 the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants have lost their lives trying.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who died have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, often on dangerous journeys by sea and land.
In recent years, the European Union has forged deals with multiple North African countries designed to curtailing illegal migration.
