Nairobi, Kenya (DT)— At least 45 migrants died after two boats carrying more than 300 people from Yemen capsized in the Red Sea off Djibouti’s coast, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The IOM, via a message on X, confirmed its support for Djiboutian state emergency services in ongoing search and rescue operations. It initially reported 45 deaths and 32 survivors.
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However, Djibouti’s coast guard updated the figures, saying that 115 people had been rescued and 44 confirmed dead.
The coast guard said 61 migrants remain missing, though the fate of other passengers aboard the boats remains unclear.
According to the IOM, the eastern migration route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen and the Gulf States is among the most dangerous in the world. Nearly 400,000 migration movements were recorded along this route in 2023 alone.
In the same year, nearly 700 people, including women and children, died attempting to cross the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, with the ultimate goal of reaching Saudi Arabia. This brings the total number of deaths on the route to almost 1,000 since 2014, according to data from the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.
Migrants embark on these perilous journeys in search of better job opportunities, or to escape conflict, insecurity, and the devastating effects of climate change.
However, they often face life-threatening risks such as hunger, disease, and exploitation by human traffickers.
Many who fail in their attempt to reach their destination must endure these dangers again when trying to return home, primarily: to Ethiopia or Somalia.
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