Gulf of Aden map SmallmanA/Pixabay
Incidents

At least nine dead and 45 missing after shipwreck near Djibouti

Reuters

At least nine people were killed, and 45 others remain missing, following a shipwreck off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a United Nations migration agency, said on Thursday.

The incident occurred on the night of March 24 near Djibouti's northern coast, off the area of Ombok, the IOM said in a statement.

The boat was carrying 320 passengers at the time of the accident.

The agency did not provide information on the vessel's origin or destination, though similar accidents are frequent in waters between the Horn of Africa and Yemen. These routes are often used by illegal migrants attempting to reach the Middle East and beyond.

Tens of thousands of illegal migrants from the horn especially from Ethiopia and Somalia, transit through Djibouti each year in an attempt to reach Saudi Arabia and gulf nations in search of employment opportunities.

(Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Bate Felix)