At least five migrants have died and more than 130 missing after two boats capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
According to a statement released by the IOM on Tuesday, the boats sank off the coast of Godoria, a mangrove area in Djibouti’s northeast.
“After being alerted by local residents, a team of gendarmerie gathered this afternoon near the reported site of the disaster and discovered two survivors as well as the remains of three women and two men,” an IOM statement said.
“The coastguard was also alerted and launched search and rescue operations. Those operations are still underway with two patrol boats.”
At least one person has been saved. It was unclear where the boats were headed.
According to witnesses, the boats buckled under excessive load when faced with large waves.
The sinking comes amid an ongoing refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, where boats filled with refugees try to reach mainland Europe after departure from points in North Africa.
Source: Aljazeera
