At least seven individuals lost their lives and many others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent sank in waters near The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were aboard the capsized craft that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in last year and estimates in excess of 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a rescue mission, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach Europe, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has established pacts with several Maghreb states with the goal of curtailing irregular migration.
