UNHCR says 55 people drowned, missing off Somalia

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-12-20 23:24:40

The UN refugee agency on Thursday said 55 Somalis and Ethiopians were drowned or missing after an overcrowded boat capsized off the coast of Somalia.

In a statement issued in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the boat was overcrowded and ran into trouble almost immediately after leaving the port of Bosasso in northern Somalia on Tuesday and capsized just 15 minutes into its journey, spilling all 60 passengers into sea.

"The tragic loss of so many lives is a new and stark reminder of the risks Somali refugees are taking as they flee their country, " the UNHCR representative for Somalia, Bruno Geddo, said in the statement.

"Without doubt, the Gulf of Aden is now the deadliest route for people fleeing conflict, violence and human rights abuses in the Horn of Africa."

The UN refugee agency said it was greatly saddened by this latest tragic incident -- the biggest loss of life in the Gulf of Aden since February 2011 when 57 Somali refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa drowned while attempting to reach Yemen.

To date, 23 bodies have been recovered, including those of 14 women, eight men and a boy said to be less than four years old.

Five of the dead are confirmed to have been Ethiopians. The 32 remaining passengers are presumed to have drowned.

The 100,000 people have crossed the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden this year, despite warnings from the UNHCR and other aid agencies about the risks such trips involve.

According to the UNHCR, in addition to using unseaworthy and overcrowded boats, those fleeing the Horn of Africa region often fall prey to unscrupulous smugglers, in whose hands they can face exploitation, extortion and even death.

"With the latest deaths, 95 people have drowned or gone missing in the waters between Somalia and Yemen this year," the UN refugee agency said.

The UNHCR and other agencies, through the local Migration Response Center in Bosasso, are currently providing support and services to the survivors and assisting the local authorities with the ongoing recovery operations.

Posted in: Africa

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