Thirty bodies have been found after some 130 migrants went missing off Djibouti when two boats capsized in rough waters, the United Nations migration agency said yesterday.
Sixteen survivors were recovered, and the tiny East African nation’s coast guard continued a search and rescue operation after Tuesday’s accident, the U.N. said in a statement. Witnesses said large waves caused the overloaded boats to tip over about a half-hour after departing.
An 18-year-old survivor told the migration agency he had boarded one of the boats with another 130 people, including 16 women. There were no immediate details on the second boat, Reuters reported as at press time.
Meanwhile, a UN report said yesterday that an average of six migrants died crossing the Mediterranean every day last year. Italy had earlier highlighted the lower overall number of deaths last year, due to fewer people making the crossing.
