Numerous People Missing Following Craft Holding 200 Migrants Capsizes near the coast of The Gambia.
At least seven souls have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for in the wake of a boat carrying approximately 200 people attempting to reach the European continent overturned in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack village in the North Bank area and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the Gambian military authorities announced officially.
96 individuals have been rescued so far and a rescue operation continues for other passengers who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for migrants from Africa trying to reach Europe.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Reports indicate several of the victims are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven people who died were found, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is a common pathway taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to European countries, often on perilous trips by sea and land.
In recent years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African countries with the goal of curtailing undocumented migration.
