No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and a significant number are lost in the wake of a craft ferrying around 200 migrants attempting to reach the European continent sank off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe.
Almost 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canaries in last year and estimates more than nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who died were found, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants attempting to enter European countries, typically through hazardous voyages over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with several Maghreb states designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
