Dozens Lost Following Boat Holding Two Hundred Migrants Sinks off The Gambia.
A minimum of seven individuals have perished and numerous others are lost after a craft transporting about two hundred migrants attempting to reach the European continent sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, officials state.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities said in a statement.
96 individuals have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for other passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Close to 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and figures suggest more than 9,000 migrants perished trying.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, The Gambian Navy launched a search-and-rescue operation, involving a number of military boats and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the military said.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven people who perished at sea were found, and 10 of those rescued are described as being in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
A Frequent Pathway
Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants seeking to get to European countries, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.
In recent years, the EU has established pacts with a number of North African countries designed to limiting undocumented migration.
