A minimum of seven souls lost their lives and many others are lost following a boat carrying around 200 people seeking to enter Europe sank off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers attempting to get to European nations.
Almost 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canaries in last year and figures suggest in excess of nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy initiated a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with several Maghreb states designed to reducing undocumented migration.
