APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The Ethiopian Embassy in Djibouti said Tuesday that at least 38 Ethiopian migrants have died off the coast of Djibouti.
In a press statement, the embassy said that the migrants lost their lives when a boat carrying 60 of them capsized on the Red Sea on Monday.
They were being transported by human smugglers from Djibouti to Yemen when the disaster occurred.
“Annually, more than 200,000 Ethiopian migrants undertake risky land and sea trips from the Djibouti coast and the Gulf of Aden coast with plans to reach Middle East destinations,” the embassy said, adding that at least 189 Ethiopian nationals have died off the coast of Djibouti in the last five years.
The United Nations migration agency the same day confirmed the drowning of migrants and refugees, including children after their boat sank off the coast of Djibouti.
The treacherous journey on the infamous route takes migrants from Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa through Yemen to other Arab countries in the region.
In February, the agency reported that nearly 400,000 migrant movements were recorded across the eastern route in 2023.
MG/as/APA