More than a hundred people are missing after they were reportedly forced to jump into the open sea off Djibouti’s coast. The incident makes 2024 the deadliest year on record for the route from Yemen to the Horn of Africa.
The UN migration agency, IOM, said two boats had left Yemen with a total of 310 people on board, bound for Djibouti. As they approached the coast near Obock, the boat operators – reportedly Yemeni smugglers – forced the passengers off the boats.
From the first boat, which had been carrying 100 people, one woman drowned, the IOM said. The remaining 99 passengers, including a 4-month-old infant, survived.
