A minimum of seven people have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred migrants attempting to reach the European continent sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants seeking entry into European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in last year and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a common pathway used by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
