At least seven individuals have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a craft transporting around two hundred migrants attempting to reach Europe sank in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates over nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the military said.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven individuals who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants attempting to enter the EU, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states designed to limiting undocumented migration.
