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At least 22 Somalis dead after boat capsizes off Madagascar: official – SABC News

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At least 22 Somalis dead after boat capsizes off Madagascar: official – SABC News

At least 22 Somali citizens lost their lives when two migrant boats capsized. Madagascar Somali Information Minister Daud Aweis said over the weekend.

The Madagascar Port, Maritime and River Authority (APMF) said the boats set out from Somalia for the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on November 2, making a journey of several hundred kilometres.

On Saturday, the port authority reported that local fishermen discovered the first boat that drifted near Nosy Iranja on Friday. The official said that they rescued 25 people, 10 men and 15 women, but seven people inside died.

A second boat carrying 38 people arrived in Madagascar’s Port du Cratère, according to APMF.

The maritime authority did not disclose the death toll on the second boat but confirmed that 23 people were rescued.

Somali Information Minister Aweis confirmed the total death toll to be 22, based on information he received from his counterparts in Madagascar.

“There were about 70 Somalis, 22 of them died. One boat was carrying 38 people and the other boat was carrying 32 people, Aweis said on state television late Sunday.

In recent years, thousands of people have tried to move to Mayotte, where they enjoy a higher standard of living and access to the French welfare system.

Mayotte is officially part of France, although Comoros claims it.

Aweis said Somalia would investigate where the boats departed from and label the organizers of the trip as criminals involved in illegal immigration.

“This is also a warning message to those who want to migrate illegally, before they die this way. “It’s unfortunate that people still go despite the danger,” he added.

At least 25 people died when smugglers capsized their boats in the Comoros islands in early November.

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