At least 16 dead, 28 missing in migrant boat capsize off Djibouti

ADDIS ABABA -- At least 16 migrants have died and 28 others are missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday.

"Tragedy as boat capsizes off Djibouti coast with 77 migrants on board including children. At least 28 missing, 16 dead," the IOM said on X, formerly Twitter. The UN migration agency said it is assisting local authorities with search and rescue efforts.

The latest boat accident is one of many similar deadly calamities that have occurred along Djibouti's Red Sea coast area.

Earlier this month, the Ethiopian Embassy in Djibouti said at least 38 Ethiopian migrants have died off the coast of Djibouti.

Data from the embassy show that more than 200,000 Ethiopian migrants make risky land and sea journeys from the coast of Djibouti and the Gulf of Aden each year to reach destinations in the Middle East. It said at least 189 Ethiopian nationals have died off the coast of Djibouti in the past five years.

In most of these incidents, desperate East African migrants attempted to cross the dangerous route, hoping to reach the Middle East via war-torn Yemen. They mainly sought to reach Yemen's northern neighbor, Saudi Arabia.