No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a boat transporting approximately two hundred people attempting to reach Europe capsized in waters near the Gambian coast, officials state.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa attempting to get to the EU.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in last year and data indicates in excess of 9,000 people have lost their lives trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces began a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the defense officials reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with multiple North African nations designed to reducing undocumented migration.
