Dozens Missing After Boat Holding Two Hundred Migrants Sinks off the Gambian coast.
At least seven souls have perished and numerous others remain unaccounted for following a vessel ferrying approximately two hundred migrants trying to get to Europe sank off the coast of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of Jinack village in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa attempting to get to European nations.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants arrived at the Spanish archipelago in last year and data indicates over 9,000 migrants perished in the attempt.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that offered help, the military reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven victims who died were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in serious condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
Gambia is a frequent corridor taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, frequently via perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Recently, the European Union has established pacts with several North African nations aimed at curtailing undocumented migration.
