🔗 Share this article Dozens Unaccounted For Following Craft Holding Two Hundred Migrants Sinks in waters off The Gambia. The shipwrecked vessel was found aground on a sandbank, officials report. A minimum of seven souls lost their lives and many others are lost in the wake of a boat ferrying about two hundred migrants trying to get to the European continent overturned near the shoreline of The Gambia, officials state. The vessel capsized in the early hours of Thursday in the vicinity of Jinack in the North Bank area and it was subsequently discovered "beached on a shoal", the country's defence ministry announced officially. Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were traveling on the sunken boat that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain. The dangerous voyage over the the Atlantic has grown into a more frequent path for African migrants attempting to get to Europe. Nearly 47,000 people reached the Spanish archipelago in last year and estimates in excess of 9,000 people have died in the attempt. Ongoing Mission Following the Wednesday incident, The Gambian Navy launched a search operation, deploying multiple navy ships and a fishing boat that joined the effort, the defence ministry confirmed. Officials state a number of those who died are not Gambian nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation. The deceased of the seven people who died were found, and ten of the survivors are said to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment. A Common Migration Route The Gambia is one of the routes utilized by migrants attempting to enter Europe, often on perilous trips by sea and land. In recent years, the EU has forged deals with several Maghreb states aimed at limiting undocumented migration.