🔗 Share this article Scores Missing Following Craft Carrying 200 Migrants Sinks in waters off The Gambia. The shipwrecked vessel was found beached on a sandbar, according to statements. No fewer than seven individuals have perished and numerous others are lost after a boat carrying about 200 migrants seeking to enter European shores overturned in waters near Gambia, officials state. The craft flipped on Wednesday midnight near the village of Jinack in the North Bank Region and it was later found "stranded on a sandbar", the nation's defense ministry said in a statement. Ninety-six people were pulled to safety and a search is continuing for the remaining passengers who were on board the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards the Canary Islands of Spain. The dangerous voyage over the Atlantic has become an increasingly common route for African asylum seekers trying to reach European nations. Close to 47,000 individuals arrived at the Canaries in last year and figures suggest more than nine thousand individuals have died during the journey. Search and Rescue Efforts After Wednesday's accident, the navy initiated a search operation, deploying several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, the defence ministry confirmed. Authorities say a number of those who died are foreign nationals and that their nationalities are still under confirmation. The bodies of the seven people who died have been recovered, and a dozen of the saved are reported to be in serious condition and getting immediate medical attention. An Established Corridor This West African nation is one of the routes utilized by asylum seekers trying to reach Europe, frequently via dangerous journeys by sea and land. In recent years, the EU has established pacts with several North African countries designed to curtailing undocumented migration.