At least nine migrants have lost their lives and another 45 remain missing after the shipwreck of a vessel with several hundred people on board off the coast of Djibouti, as confirmed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The UN agency indicated on its social media that the "tragic sinking" occurred on the night of March 24 off the coast of Obock and that the boat was carrying at least 320 passengers.
The head of IOM in Obock, Youssouf Moussa, lamented that the accident leaves "dozens missing" and stressed that the organization has provided "necessary assistance" to the rescued individuals, "in close collaboration with the authorities."
"This tragedy adds to a series of incidents that occur throughout the year on this migratory route, one of the busiest in the world," Moussa added in a short video released by the international body.
Each year, thousands of migrants try to cross from the Horn of Africa to the Persian Gulf countries via an extremely dangerous route, a recurring scene of shipwrecks and other tragedies at sea.
So far this year, around 200 migrants have died or disappeared on the different migratory routes of the African continent, which accumulate a total of 18,794 dead or missing since 2014, according to IOM statistics.