75 still missing in Djibouti migrant boat tragedy: IOM

Tragic incident involving 320 migrants from Yemen on perilous Eastern Route, with 48 dead, making 2024 deadliest year on record.

Rescue workers searched Wednesday (October 2, 2024) for 75 people believed missing after smugglers forced them to swim in open sea off Djibouti's coast, the UN's migration agency said.

The night-time incident involved two boats carrying 320 people from Yemen, a perilous journey on the so-called Eastern Route for migrants from Africa.

With 48 confirmed dead, it was the second deadliest disaster on the route this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, and makes 2024 the deadliest year on record.

Yemeni boat operators forced the migrants "to disembark in the open sea and swim," the UN agency said, citing survivors.

In one boat with 100 passengers, a mother of a four-month old infant drowned, IOM said, though the child survived.

The Djibouti Coast Guard was leading the search.

Each year, tens of thousands of migrants brave the Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa, seeking to escape conflict, natural disasters and poor economic prospects by sailing across the Red Sea toward the oil-rich Gulf.