IOM Statement: At least 25 dead in latest tragic shipwreck off Comoros Islands

IOM Comoros is saddened to hear about the deaths of at least 25 people after their boat were deliberately capsized by traffickers off Comoros Islands, between Anjouan and Mayotte on Friday night.

According to survivors, the boat carried around 30 people from different nationalities, among them 7 women, 4 minors (2 children aged 6 and 2) and 2 infants. The five survivors were rescued by fishermen on Saturday morning.

The accident follows two similar tragedies in the same area in the last three months. In September, a boat with 12 people on board including two children and an expectant mother left the coast of Anjouan and never reached Mayotte. In August 8 people lost their lives in a similar incident, including a 12-year-old boy.

Thousands of people have died on this migration route in an attempt to reach the disputed island of Mayotte, island of the archipelago of Comoros and a French département since 2011. In 2012, a report from the French Senate estimated 7,000-10,000 people had died trying to cross from Comoros to Mayotte since 1995, but that this figure could be much higher.

IOM is emphasizing the importance of establishing safe and legal pathways for migration in order to reduce the dangers faced by children, women and men along this route in risky see journeys.

For more information, please contact:

Email: ronairobimcu@iom.int

Phone: +254797735977