Dozens of migrants still missing off Djibouti's coast after smugglers forced them out of boats
By OMAR FARUK
Posted 10/3/24
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Rescuers searched Thursday for dozens of migrants from Africa still missing after smugglers apparently forced them out of two boats in the Red Sea off the coast of …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Dozens of migrants still missing off Djibouti's coast after smugglers forced them out of boats
In this image made from video, Djiboutian coast guard workers load bodies of migrants who were washed away on the shore of the Red Sea, off the coast in Djibouti Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Djiboutian Coast Guard via AP)
At least 48 people were earlier reported to have drowned. The boats had departed from Yemen, across the Red Sea on the Arabian Peninsula, carrying 310 people, the International Organization for Migration said.
It was not known why the migrants were forced off the boats while still at sea.
Initially, the IOM said the two boats with migrants had capsized but later made no mention of that, saying instead that the smugglers forced the people off the boats and told them to swim.
Djibouti’s coast guard said the tragedy struck some 150 meters (about 500 feet) off a beach in the East African nation's northwestern region of Khor Angar. It said 115 survivors had been rescued.
Moktar Abdi, a member of the Djiboutian coast guard, told The Associated Press over the phone on Thursday that the search operation was now focusing on deep-sea areas and nearby beaches. He said the coast guard would later share an update on the number of recovered bodies.
On Wednesday, the IOM said 111 people were still missing while the Djiboutian coast guard put the number at 61.
"One woman drowned, but her 4-month-old infant survived along with 98 others from the first boat,” said the U.N. agency, which was assisting search and rescue efforts.
Thousands of migrants from African, Middle Eastern and South Asian countries seeking a better life in Europe attempt irregular migration every year. Smugglers pack vessels full of desperate people willing to risk their lives to reach continental Europe.