Numerous People Missing Following Vessel Transporting 200 Migrants Sinks off Gambia.
No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a vessel ferrying around 200 people seeking to enter Europe overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the capsized craft that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa seeking entry into Europe.
Almost 47,000 people reached the Canaries in last year and figures suggest over 9,000 people perished trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defense officials said.
Authorities say several of the victims are not from The Gambia and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who drowned were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants trying to reach European countries, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has reached agreements with a number of North African countries designed to limiting undocumented migration.
