22 Somalis killed after two boats capsized off Madagascar coast

Twenty-two people were killed after two boats carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, an official said Saturday.

Somali Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union Abdullahi Warfa told state-run Radio Mogadishu that the boats were carrying 70 passengers -- all Somali nationals.

He did not disclose the date of the incident but confirmed that bodies were found Saturday.

He said 48 passengers were rescued by fishermen and were taken for medical treatment.

“An investigation is underway and we have the names of the victims and we will share them through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said.

The government did not elaborate on the cause of the accident.

The Indian Ocean has seen an increase in migrant deaths in 2024.

At least 24 people died after a boat sank off the coast of the Comoros Islands, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said earlier this month.

The UN agency said women, children and infants were among the victims and that the boat was deliberately capsized by traffickers.

In September, a boat with 12 people, including two children and an expectant mother, left the coast of Anjouan in the Comoros island chain and never reached Mayotte, an island of the archipelago of Comoros and a French department since 2011.

And eight people were killed in August in a similar incident, including a 12-year-old boy.

Thousands of victims have died on the Indian Ocean migration route in an attempt to reach the disputed island of Mayotte.