No fewer than seven souls have died and numerous others are missing following a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred migrants trying to get to the European continent sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants seeking entry into the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and data indicates in excess of 9,000 people have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military reported.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is one of the routes used by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has forged deals with several North African nations aimed at limiting undocumented migration.
