A minimum of seven individuals have died and numerous others are missing in the wake of a vessel transporting about 200 migrants trying to get to Europe overturned in waters near Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in last year and estimates over nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, using multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a frequent corridor used by migrants trying to reach Europe, often on hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states aimed at curtailing irregular migration.
