ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — The death toll rose to 25 Monday after two motorboats carrying migrants from Somalia capsized in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar, authorities said Monday.
The migrants had been at sea for almost a month hoping to reach the French island region of Mayotte.
Another 48 people were rescued on Sunday from waters near Nosy Be island off the coast of northern Madagascar, said Jean-Edmond Randrianantenaina, head of Madagascar’s Maritime Port Agency.
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Somali authorities said on Sunday that 24 people had been killed. It is not clear what caused the boats to capsize.
The boats left a beach near the Somali capital Mogadishu on November 2 with 73 people on board and were believed to be heading to Mayotte, Randrianantenaina said. Mayotte is located approximately 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) from Mogadishu.
The survivors are between 17 and 50 years old, authorities in Madagascar said.
Randrianantenaina said an investigation is underway, while a government delegation from Somalia will come to organize the repatriation of its citizens. Madagascar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the UN’s International Organization for Migration for help.
Many young Somalis undertake dangerous journeys every year in search of better opportunities abroad. The UN agency has previously expressed concern about the increase in irregular migration from countries in the Horn of Africa as people flee conflict and drought.
In April, 38 migrants were killed and 22 others were rescued from a shipwreck near Djibouti on a popular migration route to Yemen. Most of the people rescued were Somali and Ethiopian nationals seeking work in the Gulf countries.
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AP Africa News: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
