Djibouti: Dozens of migrants thrown into the sea still missing

Rescuers were searching Thursday for dozens of African migrants still missing after smugglers apparently forced them off two boats in the Red Sea off the coast of Djibouti earlier this week, the Djiboutian coastguard said.

At least 48 people are believed to have drowned. The boats had set off from Yemen , across the Red Sea on the Arabian Peninsula, and were carrying 310 people, according to the International Organization for Migration.

It is unclear why the migrants were forced to leave the boats while they were still at sea.

IOM initially said that both boats carrying the migrants had capsized, but later dropped the mention, saying instead that smugglers had forced people off the boats and told them to swim.

Djibouti’s coast guard said the tragedy occurred about 150 metres (500 feet) from a beach in the Khor Angar region in the northwest of the East African nation. It said 115 survivors had been rescued.

Moktar Abdi, a member of the Djibouti coast guard, told The Associated Press by telephone Thursday that the search was now focusing on open waters and nearby beaches. He said the coast guard would provide an update on the number of bodies found later.

On Wednesday, the IOM said 111 people were still missing, while the Djibouti coastguard put the figure at 61.

“A woman drowned, but her four-month-old baby survived, as did 98 others from the first boat,” said the UN agency, which is helping with search and rescue efforts.

Every year, thousands of migrants from countries in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia attempt illegal emigration in search of a better life in Europe . Smugglers fill ships with desperate people willing to risk their lives to reach continental Europe.

Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014, when Iran- backed Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa and much of the country’s north, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile. A Saudi- led coalition of mostly Arab states entered the conflict the following year to support government forces.

In recent years, the war has largely bogged down along established front lines, while efforts to find a negotiated solution have stalled.

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