Dozens Lost After Vessel Holding 200 Migrants Goes Down near the coast of the Gambian coast.
No fewer than seven souls have perished and numerous others are missing following a vessel transporting approximately two hundred people attempting to reach the European continent overturned in waters near Gambia, reports confirm.
The boat overturned in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for those still missing who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African asylum seekers seeking entry into European nations.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Canary Islands in last year and estimates more than nine thousand individuals have lost their lives in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defence ministry confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who perished at sea have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers trying to reach Europe, typically through perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European Union has forged deals with a number of North African countries aimed at limiting undocumented migration.
