No fewer than seven people have died and numerous others are lost after a craft ferrying about 200 migrants seeking to enter the European continent sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Almost 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing boat that offered help, the military confirmed.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway taken by migrants trying to reach the EU, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has established pacts with several North African nations with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
