The death toll from the sinking of two migrant boats off the coast of Djibouti has risen to 43, with scores still missing.
“This tragic event demonstrates the risks that vulnerable migrants face as they innocently search for better lives,” said IOM chief mission Lalini Veerassamy in a statement.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), two vessels carrying migrants departed from Godoria on the country’s northeast coast on Tuesday morning but sank in heavy seas 30 minutes into the journey.
Sixteen people are said to have been rescued, with one survivor telling Djiboutian authorities there were 130 people on his boat.
The number of passengers on the second vessel remains unclear, as do the nationalities of those aboard.
The coastguard is still conducting search and rescue operations with patrol boats.
The tragedy occurred off Godoria, a locality in the Obock region of northeast Djibouti.
Based on IOM’s Missing Migrants Project (MMP) statistics, there have been at least 199 drowning confirmed off the coast of Obock, Djibouti since 2014. MMP has records of three major shipwrecks of craft departing Obock, before yesterday’s tragedy.
In 2014 one wreck was recorded in late February resulting 17 dead or missing; another in mid-November left 30 dead or missing. Two more tragedies in 2016—10 dead 5 October; another on 21 October left 14 dead—for a total of 71 deaths off Djibouti before yesterday’s shipwreck, which MMP estimates has resulted in at least 128 new deaths.
