Dozens Missing Following Boat Carrying 200 Migrants Capsizes near the coast of The Gambia.
A minimum of seven souls have perished and a significant number remain unaccounted for in the wake of a craft carrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach European shores overturned near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near the village of Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa trying to reach the EU.
Nearly 47,000 individuals made it to the Canary Islands in last year and estimates over nine thousand individuals have died trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, using several naval vessels and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defense officials said.
Reports indicate a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The remains of the seven victims who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in critical condition and receiving urgent medical care.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is a frequent corridor used by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, typically through dangerous journeys over water and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of North African countries with the goal of limiting undocumented migration.
