A minimum of seven people have perished and a significant number are lost following a vessel carrying about 200 people trying to get to Europe sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the sunken boat that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants trying to reach Europe.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Canaries in last year and data indicates in excess of 9,000 people have died during the journey.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, the navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven people who perished at sea have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is one of the routes used by asylum seekers trying to reach the EU, often on hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Recently, the European Union has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states aimed at reducing undocumented migration.
