A minimum of seven souls have perished and a significant number are missing in the wake of a vessel carrying about 200 migrants trying to get to Europe sank off the coast of Gambia, officials state.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach European nations.
Close to 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven people who died have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a frequent corridor used by migrants attempting to enter Europe, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with several North African countries aimed at limiting undocumented migration.
