Numerous People Unaccounted For After Craft Transporting Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes near the coast of the Gambian coast.
A minimum of seven individuals have died and a significant number are lost following a vessel carrying around 200 people trying to get to European shores overturned off the coast of Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants trying to reach European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canary Islands in last year and estimates over 9,000 people perished in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that offered help, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who drowned have been recovered, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is a common pathway used by asylum seekers trying to reach the EU, often on perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has forged deals with a number of North African nations designed to curtailing undocumented migration.
