A minimum of seven souls have died and many others are missing after a craft ferrying approximately two hundred people seeking to enter Europe capsized in waters near Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in last year and figures suggest in excess of 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the military reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by migrants attempting to enter Europe, frequently via hazardous voyages over water and land.
In recent years, the EU has forged deals with multiple North African nations with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
