139 people die as their boat capsized off Djibouti coast en route to Yemen
Staff of the International Organization for Migration are receiving migrants rescued after a boat carrying approximately 305 people sank while en route to Yemen. Photo: Reuters.
At least 139 people have died after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti. Among the dead are 15 children. Another 84 people are still missing. The United Nations' International Organization for Migration (IOM) gave this information on Sunday.
Citing survivors, the agency said the boat capsized between Thursday night and Friday morning. The accident occurred near Guhere on Djibouti's eastern coast. The area is located near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Gulf of Aden.
More than three hundred people were on the boat. They were going from Djibouti to Yemen. After the accident, more than 80 people were rescued alive. All the survivors are Ethiopian citizens.
Djiboutian authorities are continuing rescue and search operations. IOM workers, along with local authorities, are providing emergency assistance at the scene.
IOM's mission chief in Djibouti, Alexandrine Coissac, described the incident as a "horrific loss of life."
She said that according to official figures, only the bodies buried by authorities have been included so far. Migrants themselves have also buried several bodies. They will be added to the official count only after authorities verify them.
Coissac said, "This incident once again reminds us of the terrible risks faced by people traveling on this migration route in search of economic opportunities."
Every year, thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa region travel to Yemen by crossing the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which lies between Djibouti and Yemen. The narrowest part of the strait is only 20 kilometers wide. Although the route is popular, it is extremely dangerous.
Many of the migrants try to reach Gulf countries in search of work and safety. Even as instability in the region has increased, the movement of migrants along this route has not stopped.
IOM said that since September 10, more than 20,000 people have been recorded entering Djibouti from Ethiopia. Last year, more than five hundred thousand people tried to go to Yemen along this route. At least 900 of them died or went missing.
Source: Al Jazeera
