At least 139 individuals, including minors, have tragically lost their lives as a result of a tragic incident where a vessel carrying over 300 migrants capsized off the Djibouti coast in East Africa, as reported by the International Organization for Migration on Sunday.
The official death toll provided by Djiboutian authorities only accounts for those who have been laid to rest. However, additional deceased individuals, buried by their fellow migrants, are awaiting confirmation by authorities before inclusion in the official tally, according to Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti.
Coissac expressed deep concern over the anonymous mass burials of these individuals, emphasizing that each of them has a family whose fate may remain unknown. The migrants embarked on the ill-fated voyage on the evening of October 8, and the vessel quickly succumbed to the sea due to overcrowding near the shore, Coissac disclosed.
Despite the valiant efforts of local authorities, they were overwhelmed by the influx of bodies reaching the shore simultaneously, Coissac remarked. Surviving migrants are being transported to the IOM rescue center in Obock, where they will undergo medical treatment for ingesting seawater and receive psychological assistance.
During a visit to the shipwreck site, Coissac noted that the survivors were in a state of shock, making communication challenging. Some individuals at the IOM facility have been informed of their family members’ demise, while others were granted access to phones to reassure their loved ones of their safety.
This calamity marks one of the deadliest shipwrecks on the perilous passage from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, with at least 84 individuals still unaccounted for, as per the latest reports.
The vessel, en route from Djibouti to Yemen, capsized either late Thursday or early Friday, with over 80 Ethiopian nationals among the fortunate survivors, according to the IOM. The UN migration agency based in Geneva disclosed that the vessel was carrying 305 passengers, underscoring the potential for a higher death toll.
Personal belongings believed to belong to the migrants, such as shoes, were spotted on a beach in a video shared by the IOM, intensifying the search and rescue efforts for the missing individuals.
The IOM emphasized the importance of safe and legal migration pathways, stressing the risks faced by migrants traversing this corridor in pursuit of economic betterment. The ongoing conflict in Yemen has not deterred the flow of migrants from the Horn of Africa, highlighting the persistent challenges and dangers along this migration route.
