No fewer than seven people have died and many others are lost following a boat transporting approximately two hundred people trying to get to the European continent sank near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
96 individuals were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canary Islands in last year and estimates more than nine thousand individuals have died trying.
Rescue Operation
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy began a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials said.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven victims who perished at sea have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is one of the routes used by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, frequently via dangerous journeys over water and land.
Recently, the EU has forged deals with a number of North African nations aimed at curtailing undocumented migration.
