A minimum of seven individuals have perished and many others are lost after a craft transporting approximately 200 migrants trying to get to Europe capsized in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe.
Close to 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canaries in last year and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search-and-rescue operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry said.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants attempting to enter European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
