Djibouti boat capsize: Kids amongst 109 lifeless with 116 nonetheless lacking, UN says

At least 109 migrants together with 15 kids have died and dozens extra are nonetheless lacking after a ship sank off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has mentioned.

The boat was travelling from Djibouti to Yemen with 350 individuals on board, when it capsized close to the port city of Obock on Thursday night time. Around 80 individuals had been rescued, the IOM mentioned.

IOM’s Djibouti mission chief Alexandre Coissac referred to as the tragedy a “stark reminder” of the risks migrants face whereas looking for a brand new life elsewhere.

Tens of 1000’s of migrants from the Horn of Africa make the perilous journey every year hoping to achieve Gulf international locations for security and work, in keeping with the UN company.

In an announcement on Friday, the organisation mentioned 52 males, 42 ladies, 9 women and 6 boys had been among the many our bodies recovered.

“This is a devastating lack of life,” Coissac mentioned.

“Our ideas are with the survivors and the households who’ve misplaced family members or stay with out information of their family,” he added.

Local authorities are additionally arranging burials for individuals who have died, whereas the survivors – all Ethiopian nationals – have medical care available to them.

Yemen stays engulfed in a devastating civil battle which has lasted greater than a decade. Despite this dispute – and growing instability across the wider region – migrants nonetheless cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen pushed by poverty, insecurity and the rising impacts of local weather change.

Since 10 September, the IOM mentioned its Displacement Tracking Matrix has noticed greater than 20,000 “actions” from Ethiopia to Djibouti.