At least seven individuals lost their lives and many others are missing following a vessel transporting about two hundred migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates more than 9,000 people have lost their lives trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach European countries, typically through dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with several North African countries designed to reducing irregular migration.
