At least 16 dead and 28 missing after a migrant boat capsized off Djibouti

At least 16 people were killed and 28 were missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti, according to what the International Organization for Migration announced on Tuesday.

The organization said in a post on the “X” platform: “A tragedy resulted from a boat capsizing off the coast of Djibouti carrying 77 migrants, including children, on board. There are at least 28 missing and 16 dead,” without mentioning the date of the incident.

She added that the local branch of the International Organization for Migration "supports local authorities through search and rescue efforts."

The accident is the latest in a series of fatal accidents on what is known as the "Eastern Migration Route."

Another boat carrying more than 60 people sank off the coast of Gudoria in northeastern Djibouti on April 8, according to the International Organization for Migration and the Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti.

The International Organization for Migration said at the time that the bodies of 38 migrants, including children, had been found, while six people were missing. 

The embassy in Djibouti said that the boat was carrying Ethiopian migrants from Djibouti to Yemen. 

Every year, tens of thousands of African migrants undertake a dangerous journey through the “Eastern Route” in the Red Sea and Yemen to reach Saudi Arabia, to escape conflict or natural disasters, or to seek better economic opportunities.