No fewer than seven individuals have died and many others are missing after a vessel transporting about 200 people attempting to reach Europe overturned in waters near The Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in last year and estimates over 9,000 people have lost their lives trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a rescue mission, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants attempting to enter Europe, frequently via dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with a number of North African countries with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
