No fewer than seven souls lost their lives and a significant number are missing following a vessel transporting approximately two hundred people seeking to enter European shores sank near the shoreline of the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday midnight close to Jinack in the northern bank region and it was afterwards located "beached on a shoal", the Gambian military authorities stated in a release.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a rescue operation continues for those still missing who were traveling on the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Spanish Canary Islands.
The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has emerged as a rising pathway for African migrants trying to reach European nations.
Close to forty-seven thousand migrants reached the Canaries in last year and estimates over 9,000 migrants have lost their lives during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
After Wednesday's accident, Gambia's naval forces launched a search operation, involving multiple navy ships and a commercial fishing craft that joined the effort, the military said.
Officials state several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation.
The deceased of the seven people who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are said to be in grave health and undergoing emergency treatment.
A Frequent Pathway
This West African nation is a frequent corridor utilized by migrants trying to reach the EU, frequently via hazardous voyages over water and land.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states aimed at reducing illegal migration.
