At least seven people lost their lives and a significant number are missing following a boat transporting around two hundred migrants seeking to enter European shores capsized off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals have lost their lives during the journey.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with a number of North African nations designed to curtailing irregular migration.
