No fewer than 45 people have died and many others are missing after two migrant boats capsized off the coast of Djibouti, officials say.
The boats departed Yemen on Tuesday, carrying 310 people, before sinking in the Red Sea off the east African country, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
“To date, 61 individuals are still missing, and the search operations are continuing relentlessly,” Djibouti’s coastguard said.
It is the latest boat disaster to hit the route, known as one of the busiest and most perilous in the world, used by refugees and migrants from Africa.
A “large-scale search” is ongoing since early on Monday, assisted by IOM, with 115 people 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 150 meters (492 feet) off a beach in Djibouti’s north-west Khor Angar region, according to the coastguard.
Every year, thousands of African migrants sail over the Red Sea to the oil-rich Gulf, hoping to escape warfare, natural disasters, and poor economic prospects.
In June, a boat from Somalia collapsed in the Gulf of Aden, off Yemen’s south coast, killing at least 56 Somali and Ethiopian migrants and leaving 140 others missing.
The victims included 31 women and six children. The number of migrants coming into Yemen from the Horn of Africa increased from over 73,000 in 2022 to more than 97,200 last year, according to the IOM.
The majority of them are forced to rely on smugglers, who often use dangerous and overcrowded boats to make the crossing.
