A minimum of seven souls have perished and numerous others are missing after a craft transporting about 200 migrants seeking to enter Europe sank in waters near the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that offered help, the defense officials reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to Europe, frequently via hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with several North African countries aimed at limiting illegal migration.
