Scores Missing After Boat Carrying Two Hundred Migrants Goes Down near the coast of the Gambian coast.
A minimum of seven individuals have died and numerous others are missing in the wake of a vessel carrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach European shores capsized near the shoreline of Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the nation's defense ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were aboard the sunken boat that was en route to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates in excess of nine thousand individuals have died during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
After Wednesday's accident, the navy launched a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials reported.
Authorities say some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven individuals who died were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter European countries, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states aimed at limiting illegal migration.
