Dozens Unaccounted For Following Vessel Carrying Two Hundred Migrants Sinks in waters off The Gambia.
A minimum of seven people lost their lives and numerous others remain unaccounted for after a boat carrying approximately two hundred migrants seeking to enter Europe sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African migrants seeking entry into European nations.
Nearly 47,000 people made it to the Canary Islands in last year and estimates over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy began a rescue mission, using multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that came to assist, the military said.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and 10 of those rescued are said to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers trying to reach the EU, frequently via perilous trips over water and land.
Recently, the European bloc has reached agreements with several North African countries with the goal of curtailing illegal migration.