Djibouti migrant boats: At least 45 dead, 61 missing as two vessels sink

A “large-scale search” is underway since early on Monday supported by IOM, with 115 survivors now rescued, Djibouti’s coastguard said.

“We remain committed to finding the missing persons and ensuring the safety of the survivors,” the agency said in a statement.

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

Thousands of African migrants have been sailing across the Red Sea toward the oil-rich Gulf each year, seeking to escape conflict, natural disasters and poor economic prospects.

In June, at least 56 Somali and Ethiopian migrants died and 140 others were reported missing after a boat from Somalia capsized in the Gulf of Aden, off Yemen’s south coast. Among those who lost their lives were 31 women and six children.

The number of migrants arriving in Yemen from the Horn of Africa rose from about 73,000 in 2022 to more than 97,200 last year, according to the IOM.

Most of them are forced to rely on smugglers who use often dangerous and overcrowded boats for the crossings.