At least 45 dead, dozens missing as boats sink off coast of Djibouti

At least 45 dead, dozens missing as boats sink off coast of Djibouti

A
Source: Aljazeera, Wednesday October 2, 2024

The boats were traversing a route described as one of the busiest and most dangerous in the world for refugees and migrants from Africa.

Refugees fleeing Yemen on a boat are escorted by a Djiboutian coastguard vessel as they arrive in Djibouti in 2015 [File: Andreas Stahl/AFP] 

At least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after two vessels carrying refugees and migrants from Africa sank off the coast of Djibouti, the UN’s migration agency said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that the boats left Yemen with 310 people on board before sinking in the Red Sea.

“IOM is supporting state emergency services in search and rescue operations,” the organisation said in a post on X, adding that 32 survivors had been found.

Djibouti’s coastguard said a joint rescue effort has been under way since early on Monday, with 115 survivors now rescued and dozens still missing.

The boats sank just 150 metres (492 feet) from a beach near Djibouti’s northwest Khor Angar region, the coastguard said.

“We remain committed to finding the missing persons and ensuring the safety of the survivors,” the coastguard said in a statement on social media, along with images of white body bags.

In April, at least 38 people, including children, died after their boat sank off the coast of Djibouti as it took the same route across the Red Sea. In June, at least 49 people died, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, when their boat sank after setting off from Somalia.

Tens of thousands of people seeking a better future leave from Africa and cross the Red Sea each year in order to reach Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states, in what humanitarian organisations have described as “one of the busiest and arguably most dangerous [migration routes] in the world”.

Known as the “Eastern Route”, human smugglers pack refugees and migrants onto overcrowded vessels as they set off from the Horn of Africa and head for Yemen. From there, they travel to the Gulf states in search of work. Those returning from the Gulf will do the same route in reverse.

As well as the threat of drowning, those risking the Red Sea crossing – often escaping conflict, political violence and climate change at home – are exposed to health risks, violence and exploitation by traffickers en route and in the Gulf countries, the IOM said.

Nearly 400,000 people were recorded making the Eastern Route crossing in 2023, IOM records show, with almost 700 dying or going missing that year. This adds to nearly 1,000 people who have died or gone missing on the route since 2014, according to the IOM.