A minimum of seven people have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a vessel ferrying about two hundred migrants seeking to enter European shores overturned off the coast of Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were on board the capsized craft that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canary Islands in last year and estimates in excess of 9,000 migrants have died in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces began a rescue mission, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants seeking to get to Europe, frequently via perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with several North African countries with the goal of reducing irregular migration.
