No fewer than seven souls have perished and a significant number are lost after a vessel ferrying about 200 migrants seeking to enter the European continent capsized in waters near Gambia, authorities say.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in last year and estimates more than 9,000 people perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven individuals who perished at sea have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants seeking to get to Europe, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has reached agreements with several North African nations designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
