At least 25 people, including several children, died after their boat was “deliberately capsized by traffickers” near the Comoros Islands, the local office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday.
“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 UN body said in a press release.
The boat was carrying around 30 people from different countries including seven women and four children, IOM said citing five survivors who were rescued by fishermen Saturday morning.
IOM said it follows two similar incidents in the same area within the last three months: one in September, when “a boat with 12 people on board including two children and an expectant mother left the coast of Anjouan and never reached Mayotte,” and another in August, when eight people – including a 12-year-old boy – died.
“Thousands of people have died on this migration route in an attempt to reach the disputed island of Mayotte, (an) island of the archipelago of Comoros and a French département since 2011,” said IOM.
The agency emphasized “the importance of establishing safe and legal pathways for migration” to prevent such tragedies.