Scores Unaccounted For After Boat Transporting 200 Migrants Capsizes near the coast of the Gambian coast.
No fewer than seven individuals lost their lives and numerous others are lost in the wake of a boat transporting about two hundred people attempting to reach Europe sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the capsized craft that was bound for the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants attempting to get to the EU.
Almost 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates more than 9,000 migrants have died trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, the navy began a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway used by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, typically through perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with a number of North African nations aimed at reducing undocumented migration.
