A minimum of seven souls have perished and many others are lost following a boat ferrying about two hundred people attempting to reach European shores sank in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African migrants trying to reach Europe.
Close to 47,000 people reached the Canaries in last year and data indicates over nine thousand individuals have lost their lives in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by migrants seeking to get to Europe, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of North African countries aimed at curtailing irregular migration.
