The death toll from the sinking of two migrant boats off the coast of Djibouti has risen to 28, with perhaps 130 more still missing.
Two vessels carrying migrants departed from Godoria on the country’s northeast coast yesterday but sank in heavy seas 30 minutes into the journey, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Five bodies were recovered immediately and Djiboutian authorities found more dead today.
“Twenty-three bodies were recovered this morning and the coastguard continues [its] search,” IOM’s chief of mission in Djibout
Two people were recovered alive and Veerassamy said “a few” more survivors arrived at an IOM facility in the town of Obock on Tuesday evening.
The coastguard is still conducting search and rescue operations with patrol boats.
One survivor estimated there were 130 people on his boat but was not able to estimate the number of passengers on the other vessel.
The nationalities of the victims remained unclear, Veerassamy said.
