Dozens of people have died and dozens more are missing after Yemeni smugglers forced them off two boats near the coast of Djibouti, East Africa.
The boats were traveling from Yemen to Djibouti on Tuesday, one carrying 100 migrants and the other 220 migrants, when the vessels’ Yemeni operators ordered those onboard to leave the boats in the open sea and swim, the organization said in a statement.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that there were at least 197 survivors but at least 48 others died and 75 were still missing.
From January to August this year, the organization’s Missing Migrants Project recorded 337 drowning deaths along the route, and the organisation said on Wednesday that the latest death toll now made 2024 the deadliest year for migrant sea crossings between Africa and Yemen.
The Djibouti Coast Guard posted on social media late Tuesday that search operations were “relentlessly” underway for the missing.
