A minimum of seven souls have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a boat ferrying around 200 migrants attempting to reach European shores capsized off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the capsized craft that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates more than 9,000 people perished trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy began a search-and-rescue operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that offered help, the military reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with multiple Maghreb states aimed at limiting illegal migration.
