Numerous People Lost Following Craft Transporting Two Hundred Migrants Capsizes off Gambia.
No fewer than seven individuals have died and a significant number are lost after a vessel ferrying about two hundred migrants trying to get to European shores capsized in waters near the Gambian coast, officials state.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday close to Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been saved to date and a rescue operation continues for the remaining passengers who were aboard the capsized craft 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 attempting to get to Europe.
Nearly 47,000 people arrived at the Canary Islands in last year and data indicates over 9,000 migrants have died in the attempt.
Rescue Operation
In the aftermath of the disaster, the navy initiated a search operation, using a number of military boats and a fishing vessel that offered help, the defence ministry reported.
Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who died have been recovered, and ten of the survivors are described as being in serious condition and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a common pathway utilized by asylum seekers attempting to enter Europe, often on dangerous journeys across ocean and terrain.
In recent years, the EU has established pacts with multiple Maghreb states designed to limiting illegal migration.
