A minimum of seven individuals lost their lives and many others are missing following a boat ferrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter European shores overturned off the coast of Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives during the journey.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defense officials confirmed.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a frequent corridor used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has established pacts with several Maghreb states designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
