At least 16 people are reportedly dead and 28 missing after a boat carrying up to 77 migrants capsized off the nation of Djibouti, the UN’s International Organisation for Migration said on Tuesday.
It is the second incident in as many weeks after another boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off the Djibouti coast, claiming scores of lives.
The previous incident involved a boat that had been ferrying over 60 people when it sank at almost the same location. The IOM said at the time the bodies of 38 migrants, including children, had been recovered while another 6 people were missing.
This time, it wrote “Tragedy as boat capsizes off Djibouti coast with 77 migrants on board including children,” on its X handle without saying exactly when the accident happened
It went further to say it was “supporting local authorities with search and rescue effort”.
Tens of thousands of African migrants traverse the perilous “Eastern Route” every year, crossing the Red Sea and passing through war-ravaged Yemen in search of better economic prospects or to escape conflict.