Dozens Missing Following Vessel Carrying 200 Migrants Goes Down near the coast of The Gambia.
A minimum of seven individuals have perished and numerous others are missing following a boat ferrying around 200 people seeking to enter the European continent overturned off the coast of Gambia, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday close to the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was later found "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for those still missing who were traveling on the capsized craft that was en route to Spain's Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach the EU.
Almost forty-seven thousand migrants made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest in excess of nine thousand individuals perished in the attempt.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, the navy initiated a search operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing vessel that joined the effort, the defense officials confirmed.
Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven individuals who died have been retrieved, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by asylum seekers trying to reach European countries, typically through hazardous voyages by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has established pacts with several Maghreb states aimed at limiting irregular migration.
