A minimum of seven souls have died and numerous others are lost following a vessel transporting around 200 migrants seeking to enter Europe overturned in waters near the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa trying to reach European nations.
Nearly 47,000 individuals reached the Canaries in last year and estimates over 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Reports indicate several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a common pathway used by migrants trying to reach European countries, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with multiple North African nations designed to reducing illegal migration.
