Scores Lost Following Vessel Holding Two Hundred Migrants Goes Down near the coast of the Gambian coast.
At least seven people lost their lives and many others are missing after a vessel ferrying approximately 200 migrants trying to get to Europe sank in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was afterwards located "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Nearly one hundred people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for those still missing who were on board the sunken boat that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for migrants from Africa attempting to get to Europe.
Almost 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and estimates more than 9,000 migrants have died during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy began a search-and-rescue operation, deploying a number of military boats and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed.
Authorities say some of the deceased are not from The Gambia and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The bodies of the seven victims who perished at sea have been retrieved, and 10 of those rescued are reported to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention.
A Common Migration Route
Gambia is one of the routes taken by asylum seekers seeking to get to the EU, often on dangerous journeys by sea and land.
Over the past few years, the European bloc has established pacts with a number of North African countries aimed at reducing illegal migration.
