A minimum of seven souls have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a craft ferrying approximately 200 migrants trying to get to the European continent sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa seeking entry into European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and estimates more than nine thousand individuals perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a rescue mission, using multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who died were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway utilized by migrants trying to reach European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states aimed at reducing undocumented migration.
