A minimum of seven people have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a boat ferrying approximately 200 migrants attempting to reach the European continent sank off the coast of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in last year and estimates over 9,000 migrants perished in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven victims who died have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a common pathway utilized by migrants seeking to get to Europe, frequently via hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with several North African nations designed to limiting undocumented migration.
