A minimum of seven souls have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a vessel transporting around 200 people trying to get to Europe sank in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canaries in last year and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy began a rescue mission, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defense officials confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, often on dangerous journeys by sea and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African nations aimed at reducing irregular migration.
