Numerous People Missing Following Craft Holding 200 Migrants Capsizes in waters off The Gambia.
No fewer than seven individuals have died and a significant number are lost following a boat transporting around two hundred people seeking to enter the European continent overturned near the shoreline of Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants seeking entry into Europe.
Nearly 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and estimates over nine thousand individuals have lost their lives during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces launched a search-and-rescue operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven people who perished at sea have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
This West African nation is a common pathway used by migrants trying to reach the EU, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states designed to curtailing illegal migration.
