At least 45 dead and 61 missing when two ships sank

At least 45 people have been killed and many others are missing after two migrant boats capsized off the coast of Djibouti, officials say.

The boats left Yemen with 310 people on board before sinking in the Red Sea off the East African nation on Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

“To date, 61 persons are still missing and searches continue relentlessly,” the Djibouti Coast Guard said.

It is the latest boat disaster to hit the route, described as one of the busiest and most dangerous in the world, used by refugees and migrants from Africa.

A “large-scale search” has been underway since Monday, supported by IOM, with 115 survivors now rescued, the Djibouti coast guard said.

“We remain committed to finding the missing persons and ensuring the safety of survivors,” the agency said in a statement.

The boats sank just 150 meters from a beach near Djibouti’s northwestern Khor Angar region, the coast guard added.

Thousands of African migrants sail across the Red Sea towards the oil-rich Gulf every year, seeking conflict, natural disasters and poor economic prospects.

In June, at least 56 Somali and Ethiopian migrants were killed and 140 others were reported missing after a boat from Somalia capsized in the Gulf of Aden, off the southern coast of Yemen. Among those who died were 31 women and six children.

The number of migrants arriving in Yemen from the Horn of Africa has risen from around 73,000 in 2022 to more than 97,200 last year, according to the IOM.

Most of them are forced to rely on smugglers who often use dangerous and overcrowded boats for the crossing.