No fewer than seven souls have died and a significant number are lost following a boat ferrying approximately 200 migrants attempting to reach the European continent capsized in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in last year and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military said.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants attempting to enter the EU, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African nations aimed at limiting illegal migration.
