No fewer than seven individuals have perished and many others remain unaccounted for following a craft transporting approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent capsized in waters near The Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly 47,000 people arrived at the Canaries in last year and estimates over 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a common pathway used by migrants seeking to get to European countries, often on perilous trips over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with multiple Maghreb states designed to curtailing irregular migration.
