At least seven people have died and many others are missing after a boat carrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say. 

The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry said in a statement. 

Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards Spain's Canary Islands.

The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African migrants trying to reach Europe.

Nearly 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and the Spanish non-government organisation Caminando Fronteras estimates more than 9,000 migrants have died trying.

After Wednesday's accident, the Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry said. 

The authorities did not say what kind of boat it was but they are typically large wooden canoes not designed for a journey of more than 1,500 km (900 miles) across the Atlantic Ocean. They are often overcrowded. 

Several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and their identities are still being verified, the defence ministry said.

The bodies of seven people have been recovered, while 10 of those rescued are said to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.

The Gambia is increasingly being used by West African migrants and asylum seekers as a launchpad for the crossing to Spain's Canary Islands, and then on to mainland Europe.

In recent years, the European Union has reached agreements with several North African countries aimed at reducing irregular migration, but this has pushed many migrants to take the longer and more dangerous Atlantic Ocean route.