Scores Missing Following Craft Carrying 200 Migrants Sinks in waters off Gambia.
At least seven souls lost their lives and many others are missing after a craft ferrying about two hundred people attempting to reach European shores overturned in waters near the Gambian coast, reports confirm.
The craft flipped in the early hours of Thursday near Jinack in the northern bank region and it was subsequently discovered "grounded on a sandbank", the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a hunt is ongoing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain.
The perilous journey over the the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for migrants from Africa seeking entry into Europe.
Almost 47,000 individuals made it to the Canaries in last year and estimates in excess of nine thousand individuals have lost their lives during the journey.
Ongoing Mission
In the aftermath of the disaster, Gambia's naval forces initiated a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a commercial fishing craft that came to assist, the military said.
Authorities say several of the victims are not Gambian nationals and that their identities are still being verified.
The bodies of the seven people who drowned have been retrieved, and ten of the survivors are reported to be in grave health and getting immediate medical attention.
An Established Corridor
The Gambia is one of the routes used by migrants attempting to enter European countries, typically through hazardous voyages across ocean and terrain.
Over the past few years, the EU has reached agreements with a number of Maghreb states designed to reducing irregular migration.
