A minimum of seven people lost their lives and many others are lost following a craft transporting around two hundred people attempting to reach European shores overturned in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates over 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, involving several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the military confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven individuals who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway used by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Recently, the European Union has established pacts with a number of North African countries designed to limiting irregular migration.
