Dozens Missing After Vessel Carrying Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes near the coast of the Gambian coast.
No fewer than seven souls have died and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a craft ferrying about two hundred people attempting to reach the European continent sank near the shoreline of The Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers seeking entry into the EU.
Almost 47,000 individuals made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and estimates over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives trying.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, The Gambian Navy began a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry said.
Authorities say a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven individuals who drowned were found, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a frequent corridor used by migrants attempting to enter European countries, typically through perilous trips by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of Maghreb states with the goal of reducing undocumented migration.
