CNN
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A minimum of 25 folks, together with a number of kids, died after their boat was “intentionally capsized by traffickers” close to the Comoros Islands, the native workplace of the Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM) mentioned Monday.
“IOM Comoros is saddened to listen to concerning the deaths of at the least 25 folks after their boat was intentionally capsized by traffickers off Comoros Islands, between Anjouan and Mayotte on Friday night time,” the UN physique mentioned in a press launch.
The boat was carrying round 30 folks from totally different nations together with seven girls and 4 kids, IOM mentioned citing 5 survivors who had been rescued by fishermen Saturday morning.
IOM mentioned it follows two comparable incidents in the identical space throughout the final three months: one in September, when “a ship with 12 folks on board together with two kids and an expectant mom left the coast of Anjouan and by no means reached Mayotte,” and one other in August, when eight folks – together with a 12-year-old boy – died.
“Hundreds of individuals have died on this migration route in an try to succeed in the disputed island of Mayotte, (an) island of the archipelago of Comoros and a French département since 2011,” mentioned IOM.
The company emphasised “the significance of creating secure and authorized pathways for migration” to forestall such tragedies.
