Numerous People Missing Following Vessel Carrying 200 Migrants Capsizes near the coast of The Gambia.
At least seven individuals lost their lives and a significant number remain unaccounted for after a boat ferrying around two hundred people seeking to enter European shores overturned in waters near Gambia, officials state.
The vessel capsized late Wednesday night in the vicinity of the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "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 those still missing who were aboard the capsized craft that was en route to the Canary Islands of Spain.
The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants attempting to get to Europe.
Close to 47,000 people reached the Canaries in last year and data indicates more than nine thousand individuals have lost their lives trying.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a rescue mission, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defence ministry said.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The remains of the seven victims who perished at sea were found, and ten of the survivors are described as being in critical condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is a common pathway used by migrants attempting to enter Europe, typically through dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has established pacts with a number of Maghreb states designed to limiting illegal migration.