Scores Lost After Boat Carrying Two Hundred Migrants Goes Down in waters off Gambia.
No fewer than seven souls have perished and numerous others are lost after a craft transporting approximately 200 migrants trying to get to the European continent capsized off the coast of Gambia, officials state.
The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was subsequently discovered "stranded on a sandbar", the country's defence ministry announced officially.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa seeking entry into European nations.
Nearly forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Spanish archipelago in last year and figures suggest more than 9,000 people have lost their lives in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces began a search operation, using a number of military boats and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the defence ministry reported.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their details are still being checked.
The deceased of the seven victims who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
A Frequent Pathway
The Gambia is one of the routes taken by migrants trying to reach European countries, often on perilous trips across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has forged deals with several Maghreb states with the goal of curtailing irregular migration.
