Dozens Lost After Vessel Transporting Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes off The Gambia.
No fewer than seven people have died and a significant number are missing after a boat transporting around two hundred migrants seeking to enter the European continent sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives trying.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a rescue mission, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven people who perished at sea have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
This West African nation is a common pathway taken by migrants seeking to get to the EU, frequently via perilous trips over water and land.
Recently, the EU has reached agreements with a number of North African countries designed to reducing undocumented migration.
