No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and a significant number are missing following a boat ferrying around two hundred migrants trying to get to European shores capsized near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals have died during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, using multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the military reported.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The remains of the seven people who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by migrants seeking to get to the EU, often on dangerous journeys over water and land.
In recent years, the EU has established pacts with a number of North African nations with the goal of reducing illegal migration.
