At least seven individuals have perished and numerous others are lost in the wake of a vessel transporting around 200 migrants trying to get to European shores sank off the coast of Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe.
Close to 47,000 individuals reached the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, typically through dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has forged deals with multiple North African countries designed to curtailing irregular migration.
