Migrants feared drowned off Djibouti

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More than 130 African migrants were missing off Djibouti after two overloaded boats capsized in rough seas, the United Nations migration agency said.

The vessels were heading to Yemen, a gateway to Gulf countries where migrants hope to find jobs and better lives, said Joel Millman, spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Alerted by local residents, a team of gendarmes found two survivors and the five bodies. The boats were believed to have capsized off Godoria, in Djibouti’s Obock region.

IOM staff identified an 18-year-old male survivor believed to be among 130 passengers on the first boat, but he had no information on the second boat, the IOM said.