No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and many others remain unaccounted for following a craft ferrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter European shores sank off the coast of The Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night near the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African migrants attempting to get to Europe.
Almost 47,000 individuals made it to the Canaries in last year and estimates more than 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, the navy began a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes taken by migrants trying to reach the EU, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states aimed at limiting irregular migration.
