At least 25 killed after traffickers capsize boat off Comoros: IOM
Al Jazeera
The UN migration agency says the boat sank on Friday between a Comoros island and the French island of Mayotte.
At least 25 people, including women and children, have died after traffickers deliberately capsized their boat off the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The boat sank late on Friday between the Comoros island of Anjouan, or Ndzuani, and the French island of Mayotte, on an often-used migration route on which thousands of people have lost their lives in recent decades, the IOM said in a statement on Monday.
Fishermen rescued five survivors on Saturday morning. The survivors said the boat had carried about 30 people of different nationalities, including seven women and at least six young children.
“IOM Comoros is saddened to hear about the deaths of at least 25 people after their boat was deliberately capsized by traffickers off Comoros Islands, between Anjouan and Mayotte on Friday night,” the statement said.
Anjouan, one of the three islands that make up the impoverished nation of Comoros, lies about 70km (44 miles) northwest of Mayotte, which became a department of France in 2011.
