Scores Missing Following Boat Transporting Two Hundred Migrants Sinks near the coast of Gambia.
At least seven souls have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for following a craft transporting about two hundred migrants attempting to reach the European continent overturned off the coast of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The craft flipped late Wednesday night 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 other passengers who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa seeking entry into the EU.
Close to 47,000 people made it to the Canary Islands in last year and figures suggest over 9,000 migrants perished during the journey.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy initiated a search-and-rescue operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants trying to reach the EU, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the EU has reached agreements with a number of North African nations aimed at limiting undocumented migration.
