Scores Unaccounted For Following Vessel Carrying 200 Migrants Capsizes off Gambia.
A minimum of seven individuals have perished and many others are missing in the wake of a boat carrying approximately 200 migrants trying to get to Europe sank off the coast of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Nearly one hundred people have been saved to date and a search is continuing for other passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was bound for Spain's Canary Islands.
The hazardous trip over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African asylum seekers attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly 47,000 people made it to the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest over nine thousand individuals perished during the journey.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, using several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the military confirmed.
Reports indicate some of the deceased are foreign nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The bodies of the seven victims who died were found, and a dozen of the saved are described as being in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Common Migration Route
The Gambia is a frequent corridor utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter Europe, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Recently, the European bloc has forged deals with a number of North African nations with the goal of limiting irregular migration.
