Reports indicate that the Ethiopian Government will investigate the reported deaths of 27 of its migrants that were discovered in an agricultural community outside of the capital city of Zambia, Lusaka.
To verify the identification of the citizens who are alleged to have perished while attempting to enter South Africa illegally, Ethiopia will dispatch experts to the area.
The victims are “all men aged between 20 and 38,” the police said in a statement on Sunday (November 11). The bodies were taken to the morgue for identification and autopsy. An investigation has been opened.
Once on the spot, the police found a person still alive and “panting” among the bodies thrown along a road. She was rushed to the hospital.
“All 27 probably died of starvation and exhaustion,” police said.
Zambia is a transit point for East African migrants wishing to illegally travel to South Africa, the most industrialised African country that acts as a magnet for the poorest people on the rest of the continent.
In October, the remains of 30 suspected Ethiopian migrants were found in neighbouring Malawi.