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Thirty bodies were found after the disappearance of some 130 migrants off Djibouti when two boats capsized in tumultuous waters, the United Nations migration agency said on Wednesday.
Sixteen survivors were found and the coastguards of this small country in East Africa continued their search and rescue operations after Tuesday 's crash, the UN announced. in a statement. According to eyewitnesses, heavy waves tipped the overcrowded boats about half an hour after their departure.
An 18-year-old survivor told the agency for migration that he had boarded one of the boats with 130 other people, including 16 women. There were no immediate details on the second boat.
Thousands of migrants from the turbulent region of the Horn of Africa departed each year from Djibouti to cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait towards the Arabian Peninsula, in the hope of finding work in the Arabian Peninsula. rich countries of the Gulf.
The vast majority of migrants are Ethiopian, young and male, according to the agency for migration.
The crossing is dangerous, the smugglers obliging in some cases to force the migrants to the sea before reaching their destination. Other boats fired on Yemen's approach, where fighting continues between pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels.
"This tragic event demonstrates the risks faced by vulnerable migrants who innocently seek a better life," said Lalini Veerbadamy, head of mission of the migration agency in Djibouti.
According to the agency's "Missing Migrants Project" project, at least 199 people drowned off the Djibouti coast near Obock, where the last capsizing occurred since 2014.
According to project data, more than 700 other people died more off the coast on the road connecting the Horn of Africa to Yemen.
The road also sees a flow of migrants from Yemen to the Horn of Africa as people flee the war.
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